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Sunday Morning News

President Clinton's Role Has Evolved Since Attending First G8 Summit

Aired July 23, 2000 - 9:05 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Because President Clinton has attended every G8 summit since becoming president, his own stature within that unique club has changed over the past eight years.

CNN's Kelly Wallace reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Outside a 14th- century Okinawan castle, President Bill Clinton poses one final time with the leaders of the wealthiest nations, plus Russia. Inside, a farewell tribute.

JEAN CHRETIEN, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I would like to propose a toast to a great president of the United States and a great leader of the free world. And good luck, Bill.

WALLACE: The president is now the veteran of this group, quite a different role than the one he played at his first summit.

GENE SPERLING, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Over eight years, the president's gone from being the new kid on the block to a senior statesman who's dealt with issues from Bosnia to the Mideast.

WALLACE: A senior statesman who can boast about a booming economy and a growing budget surplus, unlike his first meeting in 1993, when leaders criticized the United States for its soaring deficits.

SPERLING: Certainly that difference in status and record has helped him be able to have a greater impact.

WALLACE: A greater impact on some thorny issues over the past eight years, ranging from the Asian financial crisis, to the military campaign in the former Yugoslavia, to instability in Russia. Analysts credit Mr. Clinton with embracing Boris Yeltsin's democratic reforms, paving the way for Russia's entry into the exclusive G7 club.

DR. JOHN KIRTON, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: It was at Bill Clinton's own summit, the one he hosted Denver in 1997, that he said to the world, Look, this is going to be the Denver summit of the eight. WALLACE: And Mr. Clinton has attempted to broaden the agenda of the G8, as demonstrated in Okinawa, moving the talks from trade and exchange rates to bridging the divide between the wealthiest and poorest nations.

(on camera): While the president's aides say he wasn't really reminiscing at this summit, he did show a hint of nostalgia. During a class photo, he jokingly urged his fellow leaders to be serious, saying this was his last one.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, Okinawa, Japan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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