Bill Clinton: “Thank you, and good afternoon. I am delighted to welcome all of you here. I thank all those who are here from our…”

“Thank you, and good afternoon. I am delighted to welcome all of you here. I thank all those who are here from our Government and all of you who have come from all over our country and all walks of life to this very, very important meeting. I also want to say a special word of thanks to Hillary for yet another wonderful idea--this was a good idea to have this conference--and all of you who have helped on any of these Millennium Projects. I think it's done us a lot of good to take time out and think about the really big issues in our society and how we want them to play out in the years ahead. And particularly, I think this is an important issue at an important moment. A long time ago, Alexis de Tocqueville said that charity in America was something more than simple compassion; it was a sign of good citizenship. He wrote, ``Americans make great and real sacrifices to the public welfare. They hardly ever fail to lend faithful support to one another.'' Today, this is a strong tradition, and the face of this tradition is changing. Philanthropy is, like our country, now more diverse as new groups seize and share opportunity in the new economy. It is more democratic, as Americans of all income levels, believe it or not, give at roughly equal levels. It is younger, as the high-tech economy creates a new generation of philanthropists. I've got to take a little time out.…”