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Former President Clinton Predicts Recovery In Less Than 2 Years

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The Associated Press

Published: February 18, 2009

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Former President Bill Clinton told legislators in his home state of Arkansas on Wednesday that he'd be shocked if it took more than two years for the nation's economy to rebound, and said he supports President Barack Obama's $787 billion stimulus package.

"My best guess is we'll be able to turn back up somewhere between 12 and 15 months, and I would be shocked if it takes more than two years. But I'll be surprised if it takes only six months," Clinton said in his first speech to the Arkansas General Assembly since the end of his presidency in 2001.

Clinton, who was governor of the state for 12 years before winning the presidency, told lawmakers in the state House chamber that he strongly supported Obama's stimulus bill, but said it was not the only answer to the nation's economic woes.

"It is a bridge over troubled waters," he said. "Because this is a private economy, and we have to get the private banking system working again."

Legislative leaders said they invited Clinton to speak to the Legislature because the former president was already scheduled to be in town. Gov. Mike Beebe, who was serving in the state Senate was Clinton was still governor, also attended the speech.

Clinton's presidential library is in Little Rock, and he has remained a major figure in his home state. The state's Democratic voters overwhelmingly voted for his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, in last year's Democratic presidential primary. She now serves as Obama's secretary of state.

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