Kudos to Bill Clinton!

Ratcheting up the pressure on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, former President Bill Clinton yesterday urged the state Assembly to pass legislation to lift the cap on charter schools.

"Absolutely, I do," Clinton said when he asked whether he backed a charter-school expansion -- taking a rare position on a controversial state issue.

"And I don't think they should do it just because of the federal funding," Clinton said, referring to New York's plan to apply for up to $700 million in Race to the Top grants.

"I think it's the right thing to do," he said during a promotional soccer event in Harlem at which the former president announced he would serve as honorary chairman of the United States' bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

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