# Bilderberger - Why was Clinton asked to attend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [March 9, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195 "2007-03-09T01:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DirkGntly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DirkGntly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DirkGntly)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/1 "2007-03-09T01:15:56Z")
Here’s the column in question: [http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_323.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_323.html) I mean, I understand as President of the US, that he would be invited, but Cecil stated that, “Typically there are about 100 attendees; apart from the core group, it’s usually different people from government, business, and labor each time.” This is followed by, “Bill Clinton made the cut a couple years before he became president.” My question is - Why? He was just the governor of Arkansas, with little indication of presidential aspirations at the time…are the other 49 governors of US states regular attendees? It smells of conspiracy, even though I’m certain it’s not (?). ---
**Author:** ![bbs2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e495f1/32.png) [@bbs2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bbs2k)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/2 "2007-03-09T03:00:13Z")
[QUOTE=DirkGntly] This is followed by, “Bill Clinton made the cut a couple years before he became president.” My question is - Why? [/QUOTE] In the column it is explained that there really isn’t any specific reason or minimum recquirements for invitees. > [@](#): > > devout internationalist who wanted to get selected leaders > [@](#): > > apart from the core group, it’s usually different people from government, business, and labor each time. I know this isn’t the specific reason you were looking for, but Bill Clinton was campaigning to become President long before he actually turned into one (whether officially claiming to such or not). So it makes sense to me that this influential and opportunistic young governor would do his best to make himself present amoung such meetings and rub elbows with as many people as possible. [EDIT] You said something about Clinton having little Presidential aspirations at the time. I disagree. But that is only my assumption and I have nothing to cite that except for observed intentions. [/EDIT] ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/3 "2007-03-09T03:42:42Z")
It’s obvious why the Bildebergers invited Clinton before his becoming President… they were grooming him for the job. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/4 "2007-03-09T17:00:03Z")
I heard they invited Geroge W. Bush to a Bildebergers meeting, but he showed up at a Fuddruckers instead. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/5 "2007-03-09T17:15:31Z")
I’m not surprised. The cheeseburgers were better at Fuddruckers. ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2007, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/6 "2007-03-10T05:36:06Z")
> [@](#): > > It smells of conspiracy… Why?? Can’t powerful people interested in international cooperation set up their own private think tank, invite whomever they wish and keep it private without their conspiring? Maybe they are trying to overthrown violence and establish peace. Run for your life! There were forty-nine other governers, but how many of them were Rhodes Scholars? How many had made a speech before the Democratic National Convention? If the topic of the meeting in the Netherlands had been **Person Character Development – Sharing the Secrets of Your Success** , I doubt that Clinton would have been invited on a continuing basis. I noticed that George Ball was listed by Cecil. Something from the cobwebbed corners of my memories of a mid-1960s political science text associates his name with China. I have to know. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2007, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/7 "2007-03-10T16:26:27Z")
George Ball was a top State Department guy in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations. I seem to recall that Carter considered him for SecState in 1977 but went with Cyrus Vance instead. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/8 "2007-03-12T22:14:54Z")
To do a proper investigation, one should obtain a list of all the people invited to Bilderberger meetings who _didn’t_ become President. If there were 20 guests, selected for a combination of intelligence, ambition and connections, and two or three subsequently ran for President and one made it, it would suddenly not seem so conspiratorial. Well, unless you’re a conspiracy nut, immune to counter-evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2007, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bilderberger-why-was-clinton-asked-to-attend/395195/9 "2007-03-13T14:00:42Z")
An inside source tells me that at the meeting Clinton attended, the water was **not** fluoridated. Draw your own conclusions. :dubious: