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CNN Live Sunday

Hillary Clinton Addresses Yale Graduating Class

Aired May 20, 2001 - 16:23   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DONNA KELLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Today, the spotlight is on New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, and CNN's Brian Palmer is joining us from New Haven, Connecticut -- Brian.

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Donna. Just a little while ago, the junior senator from New York addressed the 1,300-plus graduating seniors of Yale College, some of them wearing extremely silly hats, and about 15,000 other people, parents, relatives, graduate students and employees of the university.

The senators's address was a mix of personal reminiscence, politics and humor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: The most important thing I have to say today is that hair matters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PALMER: Now Clinton herself -- Clinton herself graduated from the law school in 1973. According to the university, she is the first Yale University graduate, the first female Yale University graduate, to be elected to the U.S. Senate. Along those lines, she had a much more serious message for graduating seniors today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: You eventually will have to choose, and I hope that you will dare to compete. And by that I don't mean the kind of cut-throat competition that is too often characterized as what is driving America today, I mean that sort of small still voice inside which says to you: "You can do this."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PALMER: Now tomorrow are the actual commencement exercises, the actual graduation. It's expected -- it's an open secret that the university will award an honorary degree to the man who is arguably the most powerful Yale alumni in the world, President George W. Bush. He will follow in the footsteps of several other U.S. presidents, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford and his father, George Herbert Walker Bush -- Donna.

KELLEY: Brian Palmer, thank you very much.

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