The folks at MSNBC's "Hardball" announced a new hour-long special on Monday, slated to air in late February. Titled "President of the World", the special will focus on "former U.S. President turned humanitarian and diplomat extraordinaire" Bill Clinton.
But don't worry, like all "Hardball" episodes, this one will be "absolutely nonpartisan."
MSNBC released the following press release on Monday (via Inside Cable News):
NEW YORK—January 31, 2011—There’s not a single political figure today with the global reach and influence of Bill Clinton—a former U.S. President turned humanitarian and diplomat extraordinaire. No one else in today’s political arena has the ability to command the attention of world leaders and organizations everywhere quite like he does. This Presidents’ Day, MSNBC’s Chris Matthews will take viewers behind the scenes of Clinton’s life in the one-hour documentary “President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon.” The special will air Monday, February 21, at 10 pm ET/PT.
Since President Clinton left office in January 2001, he’s taken on a new and very successful role as an international humanitarian—his Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton Health Access Initiative, the William J. Clinton Foundation and countless other worthy efforts have made him a hero to peoples across the globe. Clinton’s innate talent for diplomacy gained him international recognition in 2009 when he aided in the release of two imprisoned American journalists from North Korea. In the last year alone, he’s provided invaluable political support to President Obama, hitting the campaign trail for countless Democratic candidates leading up to the November 2010 midterm elections.
In “President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon,” “Hardball” host Chris Matthews managed to spend a whirlwind week with Bill Clinton—hopping from the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City to Ireland, where Matthews sat down for a one-on-one interview with the former president. In addition, the hour includes intimate interviews with many of Clinton’s close friends and colleagues, including Tony Blair, Terry McAuliffe, John Podesta, Mary Steenburgen and Kevin Spacey.
“President of the World: The Bill Clinton Phenomenon” is an MSNBC original production and was produced for MSNBC by Peacock Productions. For Peacock Productions, Keith McKay is Executive Producer and Kate Hampson is Producer. Benjamin Ringe and Knute Walker are Co-Executive Producers of Peacock Productions. Sharon Scott is Executive-in-Charge of Peacock Productions. For MSNBC, Mike Rubin is Vice President, Long Form Programming. Scott Hooker is Senior Executive Producer, MSNBC. Timothy Smith is Senior Producer, MSNBC.
