Martha Stewart and President Bill Clinton Speak About the 'How to' of Giving on 'The Martha Stewart Show'

Martha Stewart and President Bill Clinton Speak About the 'How to' of Giving on 'The Martha Stewart Show'

Former President Announces Launch of MyCommitment.org on Nationally-Syndicated Series - New Giving Initiative Celebrates How Individuals Can Make A Difference;

42nd President Explains What His Job Might Be If His Wife Hillary Wins Her Bid for the White House

During Special Hour-Long Interview, Airing Wednesday, September 26, Martha Stewart Makes A Personal Commitment To Ease The Difficulties Associated With Caring For the Elderly

NEW YORK, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- During a special episode of the nationally-syndicated daytime program, THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW, host Martha Stewart sits down with President Bill Clinton for an hour-long episode set to air Wednesday, September 26th (check local listings). Although the former President found time to discuss a number of topics, including his future role should his wife Hillary win her bid for the White House, he used his visit to announce the creation of www.MyCommitment.org, a new website to be launched this Wednesday in conjunction with the Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York City.

According to the President, the site is intended to use the power of the Web to inspire and grow a grassroots movement around citizen service. This interactive platform will feature one million organizations and will encourage everyday citizens to make commitments to take action in their communities, providing tools and inspiration to enable people to make a difference effectively.

As part of the show, Ms. Stewart announced her personal commitment and also introduced 25 employees of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, all of whom had created personal commitments to give back over the coming year. After Stewart signed a plaque on air declaring her personal commitment, she announced plans to create a handbook that addresses how to care for the aging members of one's family. Stewart said there is "no handbook written to pinpoint all the areas of care, not only health but also education, financial, exercise, diet, so I am going to create a handbook for your organization to be distributed to caregivers everywhere." The materials (which will be free of charge) will be available both online and in the classroom for doctors, medical students and family caregivers on how to educate and support those who find themselves in a care-giving role.

Clinton acknowledged the importance of Ms. Stewart's commitment by pointing to the recent passing of his 91-year-old stepfather this spring. He said: "He had children who made sure he had a good life ... but I saw first- hand the amazingly complex decisions that had to be made ... and this is going to be more and more important ... to find cost effective ways to take care of the family that doesn't bankrupt the kids. You are also helping them to be self-sufficient longer. We (baby boomers) have a responsibility to stay healthy and self supporting for as long as they can and I thank you for doing this."

In 2006, the Clinton Global Initiative for the first time invited members of the public to make commitments through its website during the September CGI meeting. Without any publicity or outreach, hundreds of public commitments were submitted online. Inspired by this response, the foundation set out to formalize this process of public commitment making. MyCommitment.org conveys the message that everyone has something to give. This site seeks to democratize the commitment making process that has become the hallmark of CGI's success.

When asked if giving back has made him feel better, the President said: "I almost didn't make it past my heart incident and after it was over I just determined that every day was a gift ... and I should spend every day I could doing something to make the world a better place ... All I know is that this makes me happy. I've liked every stage of my life -- I loved being president, I loved being governor. But I love doing this, this is really fun."

Clinton also answered questions about what he wanted to do that he'd never done -- he said he wants "to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro" and "go to Machu Picchu in Peru." When asked by a member of the audience what dish he would want Martha to prepare for him, he replied: "I'm going to get a failing grade from my heart doctor," and said: "Chicken Enchiladas." When the subject of what his possible role might be if his wife were to be elected, President Clinton answered jokingly, "Whatever she wants me to do." He went on to say that, "I think that if you have been president you have received the greatest gift an American citizen can receive and you should spend the rest of your lifetime giving it back. And I think if President Bush, with whom I've had many disagreements, asked me to do something, in good conscience, I'd do it. And two of the things he's asked me to do were public with his father -- on Katrina and the Tsunami. But Hillary says, and I think she's probably right about this, that my best use would probably be dealing with difficult, particular foreign issues and help to raise America's standing in the world. But I'll do whatever I'm asked to do. I hope that I'll be able to continue all my foundation work too and I think I'll be able to do that because I think that's good for the country because it helps people see America in a positive way around the world. But I'll do whatever I'm asked to do." He added: "It hasn't been legal for 40 years for a president to appoint a member of his or her family to the cabinet so I couldn't do any line job but I shouldn't -- there are plenty of talented people in America who can do that and we don't want to confuse policymaking -- I just want to do what I can to help."

About The Martha Stewart Show

"The Martha Stewart Show" is a nationally-syndicated, daily "how-to" series anchored by segments that entertain, inform and inspire. Shot in front of a studio audience, the hour-long program's format allows audience members, home viewers and special guests to participate and interact with host, Martha Stewart. Featuring movers, shakers and headline makers plus everyday people who've accomplished extraordinary things, THE MARTHA STEWART SHOW sheds new light on subjects including cooking and entertaining, decorating, and home renovation and provides a forum for Martha Stewart's sense of humor, love of fun and desire to teach. Martha Stewart and Mark Burnett are executive producers. The Emmy-winning series is produced by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and is distributed by NBC Universal Domestic Television Distribution to more than 95% of the country.

Source: The Martha Stewart Show

CONTACT: Media, Sheila Feren of FerenComm, +1-212-983-9898,
sheilaf@ferencomm.com, for The Martha Stewart Show

Web site:

http://www.marthastewart.com/
http://mycommitment.org/

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