bill clinton

On This Day

January 19, 1993 – Fleetwood Mac reunite to play “Don’t Stop” at Bill Clinton’s first Inaugural gala. It had been more than five years since Lindsay Buckingham, Mick Fleetwood, Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks had shared a stage, but in a true coup of diplomacy, the Clinton team convinced the entire Rumours-era lineup of Fleetwood Mac to reunite for a truly historic live performance.

GET IN THE GAME!

In a recent interview with Ted Koppel:

“Why would anyone want to be President of the United States?” Koppel asked incredulously.

Clinton didn’t pause. “The one option in life that is almost always the wrong option,” he said “is walking away and choosing not to be in the game.”

“I learned a lot from the stories my uncle, aunts and grandparents told me: that no one is perfect but most people are good; that people can’t be judged by their worst or weakest moments; that harsh judgements can make hypocrites of us all; that a lot of life is just showing up and hanging on; that laughter is often the best, and sometimes the only response to pain.

Perhaps most important, I learned that everyone has a story – of dreams and nightmares, hope and heartache, love and loss, courage and fear, sacrifice and selfishness. All my life I’ve been interested in other people’s stories. I wanted to know them, understand them, feel them. When I grew up into politics, I always felt the main point of my work was to give people a chance to have better stories.”

—Bill Clinton, My Life