Buzz Surrounds Clinton's Oracle Speech

ByABC News
February 15, 2001, 6:30 AM

S A N   F R A N C I S C O, Feb. 15 -- When Bill Clinton delivers the keynotespeech at an Oracle Corp. convention Monday, it might mark thestart of a new business relationship between the former presidentand the worlds second-largest software company.

The buzz around Oracles Redwood Shores headquarters these daysis that Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, an unabashed Clinton admirer, istrying to persuade his old political friend to fill a vacant seaton the companys board of directors.

Oracle representatives have little to say about the possibility,but the theory began making the rounds even before Clinton leftoffice Jan. 20.

Clintons marquee appearance at an Oracle conference in NewOrleans provides more momentum to the tantalizing notion of theformer president joining forces with Ellison, the worldssecond-wealthiest man behind Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Analysts: It Would Make Sense

Oracle said there are no hidden agendas behind ClintonsPresidents Day speech in New Orleans, where thousands of thecompanys customers and software developers will gather.

We just thought an audience would be interested in hearingfrom the man who was the leader of the free world during a periodof the greatest technological innovation in history, Oraclespokeswoman Jennifer Glass said.

Clintons speaking fee for the New Orleans appearance hasntbeen disclosed. Investment bankers Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.paid Clinton $100,000 to speak at a Florida conference last week.

Clinton has stayed in the headlines, and has been a nearlyconstant subject of criticism, since he left office.

On Capitol Hill, a House committee is expanding itsinvestigation into Clintons pardon of fugitive financier MarcRich, and a Senate panel is taking its own look at the pardon. Atthe White House, workers are sorting out gifts Clinton sent backunder fire.

Even Clintons selection of office space in New York City becamea matter of controversy. He went to Harlem on Tuesday to check outoffice space after his plan to rent a floor of a vastly moreexpensive building in midtown Manhattan was criticized.