There was no Constitution, there were no democratic norms that guided what he should or could do. After he led the colonies to victory as General Washington, there were no constraints on him really, he was practically a god to those who had followed him into battle. And we have our first president, George Washington, to thank for setting that example. Of ex-presidents gracefully exiting the political stage, making room for new voices and new ideas. And truth was, I was also intent on following a wise American tradition. We need to hear from you, just a little something. And I should add, by the way, now that I have a daughter in college, I can tell all the students here, your parents suffer. I also wanted to spend some quality time with my daughters, who were suddenly young women on their way out the door. The truth is, after eight years in the White House, I needed to spend some time one-on-one with Michelle if I wanted to stay married.Īnd she says hello, by the way. I did not take sides in that late-night food debate. And when I declined, I hear there was speculation that I was boycotting campus until Antonio's Pizza reopened. The student body president sent a very thoughtful invitation. I know people are still wondering why I didn't speak at the commencement. Now, I want to start by addressing the elephant in the room. He is somebody who set the path for so much outstanding public service here in Illinois. And I am deeply honored at the Paul Douglas Award that is being given to me. I want to thank President Killeen and everybody at the U of I System for making it possible for me to be here today.
I also noticed, by the way, former Governor Edgar here, who I haven't seen in a long time, and somehow he has not aged and I have. I have a bunch of good friends here today, including somebody who I served with, who is one of the finest senators in the country, and we're lucky to have him, your Senator, Dick Durbin is here. Please give it up for Amaury once again for that outstanding introduction. And they were very impressed at my agricultural knowledge. I was trying to explain to somebody as we were flying in, that's corn.
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