Ten students in AP US Government and Politics had the privilege of going to Temple Emanu El with Dr. Tugendhaft to hear Presidents Clinton and Bush speak. The event, moderated by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, examined the state of our country. The former presidents spoke about immigration, antisemitism, and Israeli-Palestinian peace. They also discussed the most recent election and how Democracy has corrected itself. President Bush said, “Americans are sick and tired of the ugliness in the public square. They want candidates with character and dignity.” President Clinton agreed that voters are looking for authenticity like in the case of recently elected Senator Fetterman, whose success Clinton attributed to his relatability. President Bush also recounted his time in office after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. He stated that  “the terrorists can tear down a building but not our souls” as he spoke of the comradery between political parties after 9/11. He was “welcomed to New York and waved at with all five fingers” when throwing the first pitch at Yankee Stadium, a change from the usual middle finger salute he received from New Yorkers. President Clinton spoke of the importance of letting immigrants into the country. He brought up the fact that despite immigrants causing half the average crime they are twice as likely to start small businesses. 

Rather than confronting the issue of rising antisemitism in the country, they compared it to other types of hate. President Clinton related antisemitism to conspiracy theories about his wife, and President Bush compared it to anti-Asian hate and racism. Emily Vayner ’23 was eager to hear their responses but “was very disappointed in President Clinton and Bush’s responses…they failed to address the uptick in recent events in New York and the US overall. And strangely, for a question about antisemitism, they failed to actually mention Jews once and spoke very vaguely about discrimination, not really recognizing it as an issue.” 

Another topic brought up was the Middle East. President Bush spoke proudly about the state of Israel: “Enabling Iran to arm itself will cause major danger in the Middle East. The Middle East needs to know that the cornerstone of our policy is Israel.” A key point in their conversation was  the utmost importance of funding Ukraine. President Clinton said, “There are things more important than gas prices, like Ukrainians’ freedom and Democracy.” The overall message of the night was the importance of empathy and bipartisanship rather than division. Josh Chetrit reflected, “It was a rare opportunity to see what class act politicians are like, not politicians who throw personal insults at each other, but politicians who tried their absolute best to support America through policy. They stand for the strength of democracy, even beyond party lines, which is not something I’ve seen so much lately.”