President Clinton’s Cosmic Perspective | StarTalk

Question to Bill: In my interview, I asked him how science impacted his perspective during his time in the Oval Office.

Check it out. You know, the most valuable thing I had for perspective in politics in the White House was a moon rock. I was going to ask you about when we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the walk on the moon in 1999. NASA came in with a vacuum-packed, you know, glass-enclosed moon rock that was taken off the moon in 1969. That had since been carbon-dated at 3.6 billion years old.

So I asked, uh, because I had supported the space program so strongly, I said, “May I just borrow that till I leave? You can have it back when I go. I know it's not mine, but I really…”

I bet they didn't say no to that question. They did not.

So, when you see these, uh, television coverage of the president meeting with a foreign leader or whatever in the Oval Office, there's two chairs and then there's this two couches and there's always a table between the couch. I put the moon rock on the table, and for the next two years, when we'd have like Republicans and Democrats in, or people on two sides of any issue, and they start really, really getting out of control, I'd say, “Wait, wait, wait. You see that moon rock? It's 3.6 billion years old. Now we're all just passing through here, and we don't have very much time. So let's just calm down and figure out what the right thing to do is.”

And it worked every single time. Somebody, they look most every time, a cosmic perspective sitting in the middle of your table: an object that existed at a time they could hardly imagine. And it just gave them that little bit of space in their mind and spirit to try to figure out, “Okay, let's go at this one more time.”

And that's what we got to keep doing. We just have to keep mosing around both out there and in here. And you know, if you just keep stumbling toward Jerusalem, good things happen. I mean, I may be wrong about it, but that's what I think.

I just think, you know, I'd give anything to be 20 again. I'd give up having been president and gamble on my chances in the future if I could live another 80 or 90 years just to see what's going to happen. See it. Just to see it. It's amazing what's going to happen.