For 50 minutes, former President Clinton stood before several thousand architects who gathered in Atlanta on Thursday.
He spoke of climate change. He spoke of vertical gardens in urban landscapes – an appropriate topic for the American Institute for Architects. The former president even mentioned a recent visit to Liberia.
But he never said the "H" word. Not one mention of his wife's Democratic run for president. No mention of the scrutiny being given foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation. Not a single bone for the hoi polloi of the political working press.
On climate change: “We have avoided too much low-hanging fruit,” Clinton said. He spoke of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg paying young people to put a white coat of paint the tarred black roofs of his city’s older buildings – cutting utility bills by an average of 19 percent.
Said Clinton:
"We won't really turn the tide on climate change until we reached a tipping point in the number of decision-makers who believe you could grow the economy faster by changing the way you produce and consume energy."
This line drew some attention:
"Our foundation just took its annual trip to Africa. My daughter and I took off for a day and went to Liberia, right before they were declared Ebola-free. I still have to take my temperature twice a day. So far I can't even get to 98.6."
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