Statement from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton on the Passing of Tom Hayden

Statement from President Clinton and Secretary Clinton on the Passing of Tom Hayden

Hillary and I were saddened to learn of the death of Tom Hayden. His eventful life in pursuit of peace and justice ran the gamut from protesting to legislating, with lots of writing and teaching along the way. Attacked first by the right as a dangerous radical, then by the left for his willingness to compromise, Tom always marched to the beat of his own drummer, doing what he thought at any given time would advance his lifelong goals. Hillary and I knew him for more than thirty years and valued both his words of support and his criticism. His intelligence, intensity, and willingness to put himself on the line was uniquely American. He will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with Barbara and his children.

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Bill and Hillary Clinton at the Final Tom Harkin Steak Fry

Paraphrasing JFK, Bill Clinton introduced himself as, "the man who accompanied Hillary Clinton to Iowa."   It was his fourth appearance at the Tom Harkin Steak Fry where, Harkin noted, a steak has never been fried.  WJC said that the gingham shirt he was wearing, very trendy right now, was his birthday gift from Hillary.  She, in turn, on her first visit to Iowa since 2007, told the audience that Bill calls the steak fry "the stir fry," and warned that she is on "grandma alert" in case they happened to see the two Clintons suddenly run off stage.

For his part, Tom Harkin, saying that after 40 years it was time to step aside,  introduced his family: daughters Amy with son-in-law and grandchildren,  and Jenny with his "granddog" Ollie who received a little grandfatherly stroke under the chin.  Retiring from the Senate and speaking at the last of these annual events,  he said he and wife Ruth are looking forward to being back home in Iowa.  People in the audience held signs thanking him for his years of service.

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