For those of you who believe that the "Occupy" movement has been a big waste of time, former President Clinton begs to differ with you.

Courtesy of Forbes:

When someone you don’t know, that you’ll never meet again, who is just going to shake your hand and sign a book for you and say thank you before turning to the next person in line actually engages you with a genuineness that is as surprising as it is disarming, you realize that person is different. 

But, that’s not all that happened. 

His handshake was not quick, it was purposeful. And as we were smiling at each other, I asked, “Mr. Clinton, may I ask you a question Sir?” He signed the book, handed it to me and immediately said, “Yes, of course.” 

What happened next totally surprised me, but it shouldn’t have. He was confirming another rumor I had heard about him. 

I asked, “What do you think about the Occupy Wall Street movement, personally, and what do you think it says about America?” 

He looked at me and with as much sincerity as I’ve ever encountered, he said, “I’m glad you asked me that, that’s a great question.” 

Rumor number two was confirmed, this man is sincere. 

Rumor number three took several minutes to confirm. 

That’s because even though the Honorable Mr. Clinton didn’t know who I was, he would hold up a long line of well-wishers to address, with passion, his vision of America through the eyes of the public, which is the way he likes to see his country. 

“I think what they’re doing is great,” he said. “Occupy Wall Street has done more in the short time they’ve been out there than I’ve been able to do in more than the last eleven years trying to draw attention to some of the same problems we have to address,” he said. 

Without once looking around, but completely engaging me, the statesman continued. “There are a lot of young people out there, I see a lot of unemployed students and they are upset, he said. They don’t know where the jobs and opportunities are for them, and they are worried about how they’re going to pay off their student loans without going broke.” 

But I learned instantly that Bill Clinton doesn’t just acknowledge problems he has solutions at the ready. He went on to say that student loan reforms were absolutely necessary and that limiting annual loan payments to small percentages of income made sense to not impoverish students as they struggle up the ladder in pursuit of the American Dream. 

I asked if the Occupy Wall Street movement should have a platform. I was getting into another area he is passionate about, delivering messages on point. “Yes,” he said, “But it doesn’t have to be a platform; it doesn’t have to be twenty pages. They should start with three or four points to generate a political movement to get heard more clearly.”

 "Occupy Wall Street has done more in the short time they’ve been out there than I’ve been able to do in more than the last eleven years trying to draw attention to some of the same problems we have to address." THAT is a rather powerful statement. Especially coming from an individual who prides himself on his ability to problem solve.

Giving that kind of credit to OWS, and saying that they have managed to do what others, including himself, have failed to do up until this point, is the kind of endorsement you don't usually expect to hear from someone with an ego as healthy as Bill Clinton's.

Just in case you are wondering, and I know that the regular media is not reporting on it much, the OWS movement is still very active, and has moved some of their focus to helping people whose homes have foreclosed, while currently preparing to come back stronger than ever in the spring.

As Clinton has noted their victories have already been many, in fact there are some who credit the movement with providing the pressure that helped President Obama stand up to the Republicans and appoint Richard Cordray to head up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and there is no reason to believe they will not continue to have a profound impact on the politics of this nation moving forward.