Sunday, February 10, 2008
Former President Bill Clinton campaigns in Blacksburg
His arrival at Virginia Tech on Saturday is the first of a parade of presidential campaigns through the Roanoke region.
Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times
Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, in Blacksburg. The former president opened his remarks by recognizing families of victims from the April 16 shootings on campus, some of whom he met with before he spoke.
Video
Related stories
- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama woo Virginians in Richmond
- Huckabee, Obama to visit Southwest Va.
- Poll shows Obama commands lead in Virginia
Who's coming to town?
- Monday: Barack Obama has canceled his appearance for Monday morning. No further plans have been announced.
- Monday: Mike Huckabee will speak in Roanoke at 7:15 p.m. A final location has not been determined yet. Keep checking for details
- Monday: Bill Clinton will campaign in Roanoke Monday after high winds prompted the cancellation of Hillary Clinton's Sunday appearance at Patrick Henry High School. Details on a time and location have not been released.
Find your polling place
Politics
BLACKSBURG -- Campaigning for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton gave a thoughtful, measured speech Saturday night more befitting a Virginia Tech lecture hall than the university's War Memorial Gym.
And if Bill Clinton were a professor, Saturday's lesson would simply be titled "Why Sen. Hillary Clinton Should be President."
The former president opened his remarks by recognizing families of victims of the April 16 shootings on campus, some of whom he met with before he spoke. He praised lawmakers who pushed to close Virginia's so-called "gun-show loophole" that allows sales of firearms without background checks.
Clinton followed by hitting the major Democratic themes of universal health care, repealing the No Child Left Behind Act and fixing the mortgage crisis with a number of his wife's proposals, including a moratorium on home foreclosures.
His relaxed delivery contrasted with the energy of the crowd. Some subjects, such as health care, elicited such an emotional response that the former president's explanation was partly drowned out by cheers from the roughly 1,000 people gathered.
Blacksburg was the third "Solutions for America" stop in Virginia for the former president on Saturday. Hillary Clinton holds a small lead over Sen. Barack Obama in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Virginia, which holds its primary on Tuesday, is considered a pivotal state in the race. Clinton is scheduled to speak in Roanoke today, and Obama on Monday.
More than an hour before Bill Clinton's speech was scheduled to begin Saturday, people crowded the halls leading to the gym, and a line of spectators extended out the doors and along the sidewalks, some with copies of his autobiography they hoped he would sign.
Retired Montgomery County schools counselor Karen Wadovsky, recovering from the flu and with her mother in tow, called seeing Clinton "the chance of a lifetime."
Wadovsky said she likes Obama's message, but she wants to see a woman in the White House. "But I hope the country is ready for a strong woman."
She called the past eight years under President Bush "scary" and said "the middle class being able to live again -- that would be nice."
The crowd came early despite late notice of Bill Clinton's appearance. Late Friday, the Hillary Clinton campaign announced that the former president would swing through Virginia's largest town.
"I didn't know if anybody would show up on a Saturday night," Bill Clinton said, drawing laughter from the crowd.
Pundits continue to debate whether the former president will prove to be an asset or a liability for his wife's campaign, given his aggressive and unpopular attacks on Obama, and the sex scandals and subsequent impeachment that marred his second term.
Evelyn Brooks, who drove with her husband, Curtis, from Martinsville, said she thought the former president's attacks on Obama might hurt Hillary Clinton. Evelyn Brooks said she supports Obama. Her husband supports Hillary Clinton because he's grateful that the Clinton economy fattened up his retirement fund in the 1990s.
Of Obama, Curtis Brooks said, "We're picking somebody to run the government, not a rock concert."
If Al Gore had used Bill Clinton to campaign in 2000, Brooks added, "he might have done better."
Locally, Montgomery County Democratic Committee Chairman Steve Cochran said he counts the visit as a positive for Hillary Clinton. Democrats still hold the former president in high esteem, Cochran said, so "he will certainly energize her supporters to come out and vote on Tuesday."
It's still too early to say how Clinton might fare among Virginia voters in a general election. But Cochran said he's heartened that the national party is paying attention to the commonwealth.
Bill Clinton narrowly lost Virginia to Bob Dole in 1996, but won in Montgomery County, a Democratic enclave of the New River Valley. Montgomery County Democrats swept out Republican incumbents in November, and Democrats have also won key state and Congressional seats in recent years.
"I think we really have shown the National Democratic Party that there is some hope for Virginia," Cochran said.
greg.esposito@roanoke.com 381-1675
tonia.moxley@roanoke.com 381-1676
