Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (right) hugs wife, U.S. presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton, at a fund-raising rally in New York on April 23. - Reuters

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP):

Former President Bill Clinton told 1,700 graduating seniors at Harvard University which just chose its first woman president that, "Women should run everything now."

"I was considering why I was chosen to speak. Maybe because you're about to name (Drew Gilpin) Faust president, and I think women should run everything now," Clinton said Wednesday, in a not-so-veiled reference to his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton.

Faust will take over July 1.

Clinton, who served two terms, has been travelling around the United States to raise money for his wife's presidential campaign. Before speaking at the annual day-before-commencement celebration at Harvard, Clinton attended a fundraising luncheon in Provi-dence, Rhode Island.

During his speech, he mostly stayed away from politics and urged the graduates to work toward breaking social barriers.

"I believe one of the most important problems is the way people think about each other, that our differences are more important than our humanity, when our humanity is more important than our differences," he said.

Since his presidency, Clinton established the William J. Clinton Foundation to address world issues that include climate change and childhood obesity. The Clinton HIV/AIDS Initiative has expanded access to HIV medications and treatments, and the Clinton Global Initiative addresses world challenges such as poverty and religious conflicts.

Relief efforts

He also has worked closely with former President George H.W. Bush on disaster relief efforts. Clinton told the Harvard seniors his work with Bush was "one of the greatest things I've ever done."

"I love the guy," he said. "Sorry to all of you hard-core Democrats in the audience, I just do."

Class Day, held the day before commencement, is a tradition that includes award presentations and singing of the Class Ode, a satirical rendition of the school's commencement song "Fair Harvard." Speakers in previous years have included actor Will Ferrell and U2 frontman Bono.