Bill Clinton on Queen Elizabeth II

during her reign the queen met with every  sitting president but lyndon johnson rita   braver talks with one of those presidents  who has never forgotten the experience it was wise not to underestimate her she was  a smart person she knew what she was doing   and she believed that the life she had devoted to  preserving the british monarchy was not a wasted   life former president bill clinton like almost  every other president since dwight eisenhower   thank you very much for coming to us made it a  point to see and be seen with queen elizabeth why   did american presidents time after time carve out  time to do this to meet with someone who really   didn't have any actual power you do it the first  time because it's a show of respect to the country   you do it the second or third time as i did  either because she wants to do it and invites you   or because you got something out of it and uh  i gained a much keener insight into the whole   culture of the country mr clinton told  us that during their very first meetings   at a 1994 british state dinner and a ceremony  marking the 50th anniversary of d-day   he was impressed by the queen's curiosity what did  she want to know about like policy questions about   what was going on in america how we were dealing  with the economic travails we'd been through for   the last few years if she hadn't been born into  royalty i think she might have made it on her own   as a distinguished politician or diplomat when  you are about to meet with the queen is there   a whole list of instructions that you get yes you  you're supposed to say your majesty no matter what   and you're not supposed to have physical contact  no no not unless she invites it if she sticks her   hand out you're supposed to shake her hand over  the years there were some amusing moments when   president ford danced with the queen the marine  band just happened to play the lady is a tramp   she certainly knew how to get a laugh out  of ronald reagan president george w bush   almost aged the queen by 200 years "you helped our  nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17... 1976" but the next day she came right back   i wondered whether i should start this  toasting "when i was here in 1776 ..." but while 13 presidents came and went   the queen endured is there something she  said to you that you particularly remember there's one thing but i can't really still it's  inappropriate to reveal come on let's just say   this if she trusted you not to say what she said  she would occasionally say something to remind you   that she was all business when i said  something that i meant to be supportive   but she may have thought was a tad patronizing  and it was the effect of what she said was yes   i quite understand that that's why i'm  doing what i'm doing the way i'm doing it   and i loved it i just loved it i thought she was  a very special person i think a lot of americans   have just almost seen her as a cutout figure  no you're saying she was a heck of a woman   she was an amazing woman when her own  marriage had problems she felt pain   when her children were troubled it bothered  her as a mother and as the representative   of the country in terms of what it would  do to the crown i'm telling you she knew   that her job was to keep the united kingdom united  to keep the united kingdom on track with america   there's something to be said for someone  who wants to keep the show on the road and   queen elizabeth did and by and large  she succeeded often against all the odds

Channel: CBS Sunday Morning

Views: 586,669

Keywords: CBS Sunday Morning, CBS News, news, special relationship, queen elizabeth, united kingdom, bill clinton, eisenhower, rita braver, kindness

Id: aYn7lbA_l9o

Length: 4min 38sec (278 seconds)

Published: Sun Sep 11 2022