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Bill Clinton interview on PBS' Need to Know, May 7

By April MacIntyre May 7, 2010, 3:35 GMT

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton speaks at the inaugural Rural Summit, devoted to revitalizing rural America through economic development and job creation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. USA, 28 April, 2010. EPA/ASTRID RIECKEN

Bill Clinton will be featured on the premiere of "Need To Know" on PBS Friday, May 7th at 8:30 p.m. (check local listings). 

Former President Bill Clinton bemoans the state of compromise in the Congress today.

Extreme conservatives and extreme liberals "disdain the compromise in a two-party system," he told Need to Know anchors Alison Stewart and Jon Meacham. "Compromise is not dishonorable once you state your own position honestly and then you figure out what's best for the largest number of people and do it.”

Mr. Clinton does answer questions about his work bringing aid and redevelopment to Haiti; the future of clean energy technologies; the proliferation of news and information outlets; and his decision to make GPS technology free to all. Above all, he stated his belief that anyone who has ever bet against America has lost.

He acknowledged the need to look at all America's challenges "through the future filter."

The former President talked about how extreme politics stem from insecurity and the need for personal security and control. "A lot of these more extreme things that are happening today - talking about secession and so forth - the people in the state legislatures saying you can carry a concealed loaded weapon into a Starbucks to get your Cowboy Latte - I think it's really a way of saying 'I want control of my own life again. Things are way out of hand'." Mr. Clinton said that there's no option but to get back "in the future business."

"Need to Know" premieres on PBS stations on Friday May 7th - at 8:30 pm on most stations. (Check local listings.)