Former President Bill Clinton slumped casually in an armchair before a packed house at the Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts and spoke little of politics or his eight years in the White House.

Until he was asked.

Clinton's Tuesday evening talk, part of the Florida Forum benefiting Wolfson Children's Hospital, focused mainly on the philanthropic efforts he's embarked on for natural disaster victims over the past five years.

See more photos of the former president's visit

He told young people to stay inspired - and get all the education they can - as he explained that more than a billion people in the world live on about $1 a day.

Clinton described the current times as a great age of inter-dependency where massive gaps in the distribution of wealth make it imperative for those with financial wherewithal to help those in need.

But, during a brief round of questions after his 40-minute speech, Clinton spoke proudly of his administration.

Words like Lewinsky, Bosnia and Whitewater never entered the discussion, but he did say that he thinks his economic plan would have pulled the nation completely out of debt by 2015 - something that hadn't been the case since 1832.

Lines like that are what Jacksonville computer consultant Jim Cannan was looking for when he decided to come see Clinton speak. He said he never voted for Clinton, but he was curious as to how he'd frame his presidency to an audience in the conservative South.

"This is a great opportunity," Cannan said, adding that he is planning to attend former President George W. Bush's speech for the Florida Forum in March.

Clinton got a laugh out of the audience as he said he thought seriously about being a professional saxophone player before his presidential run, but that he knew deep down he'd never be better than jazz legend John Coltrane.

He talked about how eye-opening his relief efforts for natural disaster victims have been. He said he'll never forget a time he was at a fair in New York when a woman approached him with a $50 bill and asked that it be applied to the tsunami fund Clinton started with former President George H.W. Bush in 2005.

Clinton said talent, ability and dreams are evenly distributed throughout the world, but opportunity is not.

"Because we have the capacity to do these things, we must," he said.

Later in the evening, Clinton was scheduled as the guest of honor at a fundraiser for Jacksonville mayoral candidate Alvin Brown, a Democrat who was a White House staffer under Clinton. Earlier in the day, Clinton was in St. Petersburg to stump for Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek, who has been trailing in the polls.

Clinton has plans this week to campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Alex Sink as well.

david.hunt@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4025

link: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-10-20/story/clinton-tells-f...