--- title: Hillary Clinton Praises George W. Bush And the Art of Compromise description: The former secretary of state avoided her email controversy in one of her last speeches before she announces her presidential bid canonical: https://time.com/3751227/hillary-clinton-george-bush/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-03-19T19:01:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:04:58.779Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hillary Clinton Praises George W. Bush And the Art of Compromise og:description: The former secretary of state avoided her email controversy in one of her last speeches before she announces her presidential bid og:url: https://time.com/3751227/hillary-clinton-george-bush/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d108f8d02e757e/69878465a988ca5caa6ad012/466521440.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Inducted Into Irish America Hall of Fame og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton Praises George W. Bush And the Art of Compromise twitter:description: The former secretary of state avoided her email controversy in one of her last speeches before she announces her presidential bid twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta5d108f8d02e757e/69878465a988ca5caa6ad012/466521440.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Hillary Clinton Praises George W. Bush and the Art of Compromise ## Video: Hillary Clinton Talks Economy at EMILY Gala [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton Talks Economy at EMILY Gala](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RsesWtI8.m3u8) (0:27)  _Published 2015-03-04. Hillary Clinton called for equal pay and talked economy at the 30th anniversary of EMILY's List gala Tuesday night._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 19, 2015 7:01 PM UTC  Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks on stage during a ceremony to induct her into the Irish America Hall of Fame on March 16, 2015 in New York City. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks on stage during a ceremony to induct her into the Irish America Hall of Fame on March 16, 2015 in New York City.Yana Paskova—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Mar 19, 2015 7:01 PM UTC Hillary Clinton took respite from the swirling controversy over her email use as Secretary of State during an address at a summer camp conference on Thursday, where she criticized the bipartisan divide in Washington and touted her own ability to work across the party aisle. “We’ve lost the essential role of relationship-building and consensus-building,” Clinton told the crowd gathered in an Atlantic City, New Jersey convention center. “When I was in the Senate, I realized that I might be opposed to someone’s bill today, and working with that person tomorrow.” “I did a lot of reaching across the aisle working with people who had a lot of political differences with me,” she said. Clinton recalled the days after 9/11 when as a Senator from New York, she lobbied President George W. Bush in the Oval Office for aid to New York. “President Bush looked at us and said, ‘What do you need?’ And I said, ‘We need $20 billion to rebuild New York Mr. President.’ And he said, ‘You got it.’ I will never forget that,” Clinton recalled. “If you don’t build relationships with people and all you do is show up to argue and show up to point fingers, you can’t get anything done,” she continued. Clinton’s remarks were not only a critique of the prevailing deadlock in Washington but also a dig at hardline Republicans and President Obama, who many critics have argued has been largely unable to rein in divides in the Capitol. “The people who claim proudly never to compromise should not be in the Congress of the United States, because I don’t think I or anybody have all the answers. I think we can actually learn things from each other I think we have to start listening,” she said. The candidates’ ability to ameliorate divides in Washington will likely be a key theme of the race, as hopefuls appeal to an American public weary of partisan gridlock in the Capitol. Clinton is set to announce her all-but-certain bid for president next month. In her 30-minute speech and the subsequent question-and answer session, Clinton did not address the ongoing controversy over her use of personal email during her time as Secretary of State, when she sent work-related emails from her own account. Republicans have sharply criticized the likely candidate for taking over a year to turn over work-related emails, and for deleting over 30,000 emails she deemed personal. She has not spoken on the issue since a press conference at the United Nations last week. Clinton spoke to a jam-packed crowd of hundreds of camp staff and professionals at the [American Camp Association](http://www.acacamps.org/) Tri-State CAMP Conference in Atlantic City. In an exhibition nearby, businesses displaying camp trophies, tubs of sunscreen, and lice treatments advertised to summer camp professionals. ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis Thursday’s event marked one of the last speeches on Clinton’s calendar, which for two years has been littered with lucrative speaking events across the United States. Earning fees that often ran upwards of $200,000, Clinton has addressed audiences ranging from Goldman Sachs to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. She also used her audience to return to more familiar themes of her career, like early childhood education and environmental protection. She has been a staunch advocate of pre-kindergarten programs, and she commended preschool initiatives in Oklahoma and New York City. “We don’t have a national program but we’re doing it a local and state level,” said Clinton. “This is not just about how nice it is to do things for our kids, all of our kids, every kind of kid. This is about what we’re going to be able to do in terms of economic growth and jobs and opportunity into the future.” In her remarks, Clinton told the crowd that she herself never went to sleep-away camp, but recalled her daughter Chelsea’s camp experience, who at age five said she wanted to go to summer camp. “I said, ‘You’re five years old!’” Clinton recalled to laughs from the audience. Clinton, who became a grandmother in September, invoked her own motherhood several times. Her familial role is also likely to be a key facet of her presumptive presidential campaign. “Not just my granddaughter, who’s going to get all the time, attention, love nurturing that she can possibly absorb—I imagine when she finally starts to talk she’s going to say just leave me alone, enough,” Clinton joked to laughs. “But I want every child to have the same opportunity.” **MORE**: [Hillary Clinton’s Search Party](http://time.com/3750530/search-party/) A [Reuters/Ipsos](http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/19/us-usa-clinton-poll-idUSKBN0MF0DV20150319) poll showed that among Democrats who are likely to vote in the primaries, support for Clinton dropped about 15 percentage points since mid-February to a low in the mid-50s. Nearly half of Democratic respondents—46%—said there should be an independent review of Clinton’s emails to ensure she turned over everything work-related. Clinton is scheduled to speak on Monday at an event held at the Center for American Progress, a major liberal think tank in Washington D.C., and later that day at the Toner Prize celebration. Clinton is not scheduled to speak publicly in April, when she is expected to announce her bid for president. ### See the 2016 Candidates Looking Very Presidential  Sen. Ted Cruz is surrounded by stars and stripes at the 2014 Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. on September 26, 2014. Mark Peterson—Redux  Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton gazes pensively into the distance at Iowa Senator Tom Harken'a annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa on September 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME  Jeb Bush Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush flashes a power watch before giving his keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington on Nov. 20, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Bernie Sanders waves to supporters after officially announcing his candidacy for the U.S. presidency during an event at Waterfront Park in Burlington, Vermont, on May 26, 2015. Win McNamee—Getty Images  Chris Christie New Jersey Governor Chris Christie strikes a presidential power stance at the ceremony for the opening of the 206 bypass in Hillsborough, New Jersey on October 28, 2013. Mark Peterson—Redux  Former Hewlett-Packard Co Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina listens to her introduction from the side of the stage at the Freedom Summit in Des Moines, Iowa on Jan. 24, 2015. Jim Young—Reuters  Rand Paul Sen. Rand Paul works a crowd during a campaign stop on October 24, 2014 in McDonough, Georgia. Jessica McGowan—Getty Images  Rick Perry Texas Gov. Rick Perry looks powerfully patriotic during the National Anthem before an NCAA college football game on Nov. 27, 2014, in College Station, Texas. David J. Phillip—AP  Bobby Jindal Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal looks to the future during The Family Leadership Summit on Aug. 9, 2014, in Ames, Iowa. Charlie Neibergall—AP  Martin O'Malley Maryland Governor Martin OíMalley ponders decorating ideas in front of his possible future home on CBS's Face the Nation on Feb. 23, 2014. Chris Usher—AP  Marco Rubio Sen. Marco Rubio looks determined the morning after the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2014. Melissa Golden—Redux  Ben CarsonBen Carson at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference on March 8, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Jim Webb Retiring Sen. Jim Webb imitates the presidential wave during a rally in Virginia Beach, Va. on Sept. 27, 2012. Steve Helber—AP  John Kasich Ohio Gov. John Kasich practices his presidential victory pose at the Ohio Republican Party celebration on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014, in Columbus, Ohio. Tony Dejak—AP  Rick Santorum Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum looks resolute at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference on March 7, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker practices the presidential point on March 3, 2014 in Milwaukee. Jeffrey Phelps—AP  Mike Huckabee Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee fine-tunes his presidential oratory at the Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference in National Harbor, Md. on March 7, 2014. Susan Walsh—AP  Lincoln Chafee, Former Rhode Island Governor, poses for a selfie with a student after announcing he will seek the Democratic nomination for president in Arlington, Va. on June 3, 2015. Jonathan Ernst—Reuters  Lindsey Graham Lindsey Graham announced his plans to join the 2016 presidential race. Alex Wong—Getty Images  George Pataki Former New York governor George Pataki listens to a question at the First in the Nation Republican Leadership Conference in Nashua, New Hampshire, in this April 17, 2015 file photo. Brian Snyder—Reuters ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3751227/hillary-clinton-george-bush/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3751227/hillary-clinton-george-bush/"},"headline":"Hillary Clinton Praises George W. 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