Published: May 08, 2008 11:50 pm         

Bill Clinton stumps for wife across region

FAYETTEVILLE — America’s 42nd president campaigned in the Fayette County seat Thursday on behalf of the woman he hopes to see become the nation’s 44th chief executive — his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

As Bill Clinton repeatedly put it to the cheering throngs of supporters who packed the Fayetteville High School gymnasium, Hillary is fighting on in the Democratic nomination contest “because of people like you and places like this.”

He noted with humorous irony that he and Hillary were married in Fayetteville, Ark. “Boy, am I glad to be here,” he exclaimed, adding he felt “welcome” following Fayetteville Mayor Jim Akers’ presentation of the former president with a key to the city prior to the speech.

Clinton wasted no time launching into the reasons why West Virginia voters should support his wife in next Tuesday’s Democratic primary. He noted he would support her even if the two had never married.

“Don’t believe all the media hype that your vote doesn’t matter,” he advised, criticizing some media outlets for the death knell they have declared over her campaign in recent days.

“They know you can (win), and they’re afraid you will,” he thundered, referring to the political strategy of an opponent who attempts to persuade you that you have already lost before the contest is over.

Clinton cited examples of state contests won by Hillary earlier this year where she was heavily outspent in television advertising by Illinois Sen. Barack Obama — by a ratio of 2 to 1 in Ohio, by $4 million in Texas and by $8 million in Pennsylvania.

She won all of those contests, Clinton pointed out.

“Don’t get discouraged. Hillary is still in this race despite being heavily outspent and despite one-sided media coverage,” he asserted.

The former president even went so far as to say his wife is more qualified to be president now — in the light of both her experience and the challenges America currently faces — than he was when he first ran for the office in 1992.

Clinton spoke of the need for the country to return to a condition of “shared prosperity,” noting a good economy only works when “everyone has a fair chance” at it.

He also criticized the policies of the Bush administration, especially in the areas of nuclear weapons, torture and the environment. For seven years, Clinton claimed, America has appeared to hold itself to one standard and the rest of the world to another.

“We have to restore our standing in the world,” he said.

“She is the best qualified to turn the economy around” with a plan to “rebuild the middle class,” Clinton stated, adding that Hillary has a strategy for creating 8 million new jobs that “can’t be outsourced.”

- - -

Fayetteville was the third of five stops made by Clinton Thursday during a Solutions for America tour.

While Sen. Clinton made stops in Shepherdstown Wednesday and Charleston Thursday, her husband stumped for her in Philippi, Sutton, Fayetteville, Fairlea and Bluefield. It was the former president’s second visit to the Mountain State in two months.

Clinton and Obama are vying for West Virginia’s 28 delegates in their race for the Democratic nomination. At least 18 of the state’s delegates will be decided by Tuesday’s vote. The other 10 are so-called superdelegates, three of whom have already committed to Clinton, with two backing Obama.

Although she holds a commanding lead in the polls over Obama in West Virginia, Clinton is leaving nothing to chance by blanketing the state.

Obama is planning a return trip to West Virginia, a spokesman for his campaign said earlier this week.

Based on the latest elections results, The Associated Press reports Obama has 1,840 of the 2,025 convention delegates needed to clinch the nomination, while Clinton’s delegates number 1,688.

— E-mail: mhill@register-herald.com