As part of his visit to New York during United Nations events, President Obama stopped by a meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative Wednesday. In his remarks there, he came up with a new name for former President Bill Clinton: “our do-gooder-in-chief.”
Obama’s words were part of a good-natured back-and-forth with the last Democratic president. Clinton introduced Obama as a believer in the Clinton Global Initiative and said, “In his former life, he was a walking NGO.” Obama, of course, is a former community organizer, and NGO refers to non-governmental organizations, which are international non-profits that engage in charitable and political work.
“Thank you very much,” Obama said after Clinton’s introduction. “It is wonderful to see so many do-gooders in one room. And our do-gooder-in-chief, Bill Clinton, thank you for not only the gracious introduction, but the extraordinary work that he has been doing each and every day.”
Obama devoted the bulk of his remarks to promoting his new jobs proposal, and — unusual for the president of late — mentioned the word “Republican” only once. But he did suggest, as he sometimes does, that his opposition is beyond reason. “I have to say that I do envy President Clinton because when you’re out of Washington, it turns out that you’re just dealing with people who are reasonable all the time,” he said, to laughter from the Manhattan audience. “Nobody is looking to score points. Nobody is looking at the polls on any particular issue. You’re just trying to solve problems.”
