Monday, October 13, 2008
Democrats will win in Virginia, Clinton says
The former president said Barack Obama has shown the right presidential instincts.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
An attendee wears a shirt saying "I miss Bill" during an appearance by former President Bill Clinton in Roanoke.
KYLE GREEN The Roanoke Times
Former President Bill Clinton addresses a large crowd Sunday in Roanoke campaigning for Democratic candidate Barack Obama.
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Former President Bill Clinton drew 3,500 people to downtown Roanoke on Sunday in his first Virginia campaign swing for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama.
Clinton focused his speech on the economy and health care and explained why he supports the Democratic presidential candidate, who has been aggressively campaigning for Virginia's 13 electoral votes. Clinton also stopped in Richmond on Sunday.
Clinton took the stage Sunday at downtown Roanoke's Market Square and began his speech by declaring, "For the first time in 40 years, Virginia will be a Democratic state."
The last time Clinton was in Roanoke was before the Democratic primary in February, when he spoke in support of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, and her bid for the Democratic ticket. That event drew a crowd of 1,200 people to Patrick Henry High School.
Clinton praised his wife Sunday, saying that she has spoken at 50 such events in support of Obama and mentioning that they had celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary Saturday.
He then talked about the characteristics that make a good president, including the right ideas, good instincts, and a "good supporting cast."
He said Obama has shown presidential instincts, first when he picked Joe Biden as his running mate and second in his response to the economic crisis. Clinton described how Obama got his economic team together and called senior members of the former Clinton administration to first understand and analyze the situation before he made a statement.
"I've been frankly so upset about the developments of the last month that I could scream," Clinton said, referring to the current economic crisis.
He said economic disparities in America have increased substantially in the past decade and emphasized the importance of repairing the financial system to make sure it works for ordinary people. He also spoke of the need to create a new source of jobs, which Obama wants to do in the clean energy sector.
Clinton was the first Democratic president in six decades to be elected twice, first in 1992 and then in 1996 during a time of economic prosperity.
A press release from the Obama campaign stated, "Under his leadership, the country enjoyed the strongest economy in a generation and the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, including the creation of more than 22 million jobs, leaving George Bush with a record surplus that has since been squandered."
Before Clinton spoke, Roanoke resident Amy Richardson took the stage and described presidential elections in relationship to the economy.
Richardson recounted how she didn't vote in the 1992 election when Clinton ran because she really didn't think elections mattered. The past eight years have taught her otherwise, she said.
In 1992, she said, she was working two jobs and renting. By the end of Clinton's administration, she was working one job that paid more than the two combined, had bought a house and a car and had taken three trips to Europe.
She described how in 2008, things are much different. She said she's concerned about her job security and said, "I make a little more than in 2000, but it doesn't go as far.
"I know I was wrong about elections. They matter a lot," Richardson said. "Barack will invest in American people the same way President Clinton did."
In addition to the economy, Clinton also spoke about the need to seriously reform health care as well as restore the American Dream.
As Clinton spoke, Roanoke police officers stood watch on roofs under a bright blue early evening sky, and people held signs that read "Obama Y'all" and "VA [heart] Obama."
Clinton said America is in a ditch that it needs to get out of, saying that Obama would have a good shot at doing just that.
"We don't have an option. We have to vote Barack Obama," Clinton said.
After the speech, George Baldwin, 53, stood in Market Square with a signed photograph of Clinton. He has a wall of presidents' photos in his den, he said, and he plans to hang it there. He said he has always wanted to meet the 42nd president.
"He was a wonderful president. He put our country back together," Baldwin said. "He got this country rolling again."
