Bill Clinton Helps Mark the 12th Anniversary Of Ron Browns Death

April 4, 2008

A teary eyed Bill Clinton helped mark the 12th anniversary of the death of Ron Brown, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee and the first Commerce secretary in the Clinton Administration, which made him the first African American to ever hold this position. While speaking to a group of students at Penn State University’s Altoona campus, Clinton also noted that Friday will mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, but noted that today was an emotional day” for him in terms of anniversary’s as well.

Today won’t be marked in the same way, but it’s the 12th anniversary of the death of Ron Brown, who was my secretary of Commerce,” he said.

Clinton shared the story of Browns final moments for he perished when his Air Force plane crashed into a mountain in Croatia in the midst of the Bosnian War. Clinton even revealed that he has a rock from the mountain where the plane crashed, complete with fragments of the plane. He also said Brown’s wife, whom he spoke to earlier today, has one as well.

That’s when America’s best,” Clinton said. These people over there, they loved him, because they thought he was trying to get them out of war and into peace, out of poverty and into prosperity. And they thought of America as a place that stood for that.”

This is the point where Clinton visually appeared to get quite choked up over the memory of his dear friend.

And every time I go home, I look at that rock, and I think of my friend, and the life he should have had,” he said.

Clinton moved on to talk about the current Democratic primary in which his wife is obviously a major part of. He told the crowd of more than 1,900 in attendance that Democratic voters don’t necessarily need to be against Senator Obama, or Senator Clinton instead they should look at it as a positive decision:

This is a happy choice, you don’t have to be against anybody,” Clinton said. But you do have to pick the best president. With all my heart, I think she’s the best I ever had a chance to support.”

Regardless of your personal feelings surrounding Bill Clinton’s actions during this primary season, which I myself have been critical of at times, you have to admit that instances like today really bring you back to what attracted the country so deeply to Bill Clinton. I just hope that the “dust ups” which Clinton has been at the center of during the primary process are over with, so those of us who adored former President Clinton can go back to remembering him for all the good he’s done in his time spent in the public eye.