Clinton speaks to thousands at DePauw

GREENCASTLE, Ind. (AP) - Bill Clinton told a college student from Myanmar on Friday that the Asian nation's people must walk a "tightrope" toward democracy without giving the former military leaders an excuse to back out of reforms.

"Don't do something dumb to give them a phony excuse to take your freedom back," the former president said during a question-and-answer session that followed a lecture to thousands of students at DePauw University in Greencastle, about 38 miles west of Indianapolis.

President Barack Obama announced Friday that he was reopening relations with Myanmar after the recent release of political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Clinton noted that his wife, Secretary of State Hilllary Clinton, plans to visit Myanmar in December to evaluate how serious the nation is about implementing democratic reforms.

Openness to change was a general theme of Clinton's talk. He called for bipartisan cooperation in adopting Obama's economic plan and urged the president to work with the private sector to create jobs.

One idea Clinton offered was to retrofit all schools and universities, public buildings and private homes to be environmentally green, and to pay for the project through the energy savings realized by each retrofit.

Clinton's lecture, entitled "Embracing Our Common Humanity," was cautiously optimistic. He said the 21st century is "full of promise" despite problems ranging from authoritarian regimes to climate change, but the world is too unequal, too unstable and the modern way of life is unsustainable.

He pointed to the deaths of millions of people from preventable diseases, the worldwide financial crisis and global warming as examples.

Before the speech, Clinton and Indiana Democrat John Gregg met with about 15 people who donated $5,000 each to Gregg's campaign for governor.