Redemption? Could Bill Finally Help Hillary

Redemption? Could Bill Finally Help Hillary

By Judi Panasik
The Weekly Recorder
March 14, 2008

After being harshly criticized in the media for being too aggressive against Barack Obama. After scandal and infidelity in the White House.

Could former President Bill Clinton help his wife, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, in a must win pivotal delegate state?

There are some things in life that you will never forget, both good and bad. I will never forget that the first time I was able to vote in a presidential election, I voted for Bill Clinton. At Washington and Jefferson College on Tuesday March 11, a young college student, who will be voting in her first presidential election, may never forget that after attending a rally for Senator Hillary Clinton she was denied an autograph by her husband, or at least by those attending to him.

In a race that is so close with so many young people supporting Obama’s campaign, was that such a wise move by whoever made the decision? The student had made a banner for the event, and like many others in attendance, was trying to get her memories, or piece of history signed by former President Clinton. When told that they were not collecting anymore articles to sign the student took one last chance. She borrowed a pen and wrote on the back of her poster, “One signature for one vote” and slid it under the curtain. It was her last and only shot. You could hear the sign being picked up, so hope was still in the air.

The student was elated that she might get the Presidents autograph, that persistency and a little courage may have paid off. But as the items that had been taken back to be signed were being handed out, hers was nowhere to be found.

As the students that helped with the event, and got to meet Clinton personally, walked back out, one of the boys handed the now folded up poster back to the girl and told her that someone helping out decided that they didn’t think the note was funny.

But was it her decision to potentially lose Hillary that students vote? How long would it have taken to sign a poster? I’m pretty sure making the poster and taking the time to hear Clinton speak took much longer. Not to mention the time it will take her to vote.

And it’s not Hillary’s fault, or her husbands, but it’s a disappointment the student will have going into the primary.

But she was not the only one vying for Clinton’s attention on Tuesday.

Crowds surrounded the stage at W&J where a mass of hands holding and pushing through books, pictures, Hillary for President signs, homemade banners and other objects of personal meaning were trying to get to Clinton. Students were running out of the crowd announcing they had just touched Clinton’s hand. Even local politicians like Judy Fisher, Larry Maggi and Bracken Burns had managed to be right along the barricade where Clinton was making his rounds.

The event at the W&J gymnasium may have been a more massive crowd but the real event was at the Canonsburg Senior Center where he pretty much gave the same speech but took the time to answer questions.

After giving his speech he took the microphone in his hand and began answering questions from the crowd, at one point even stepping off the stage. Most of the questions were regarding healthcare and jobs. But he is Bill Clinton and his ability to charm a crowd proved to be more than just a legend.
He talked about health care and the donut hole that exists for seniors between Medicare and, if any, their additional insurance. He joked that this was upsetting to him not only for what it does to seniors but for the bad name it gives donut holes, his favorite part of the donut because it was supposed to be the least fattening.

But besides addressing the obvious issues that are facing our country like the War in Iraq, healthcare, the price of gas, and the economy, he put a soul with Hillary. She can write books and give speeches, but it was what and how he said it that made you realize why this isn’t just a popularity contest to her.

Clinton told a story about his wife when they were just law students and how she had witnessed children being abused and sat at dinner with him crying about what she had seen. She stayed in law school an extra year, according to Clinton, so she could change a law to protect those children.

As Clinton talked about his wife, and her compassion and hard work for others, that was when you saw what he saw in her, someone who wanted to make a difference.

And when you think about it, no matter how many tabloids stories there have been about her and her family. Whether or not she lied to us over her husband’s escapades. Regardless of her continuos and relentless push to become president, she does know what is going on with people and communities. Hillary Clinton has worked for decades to try to make peoples lives better yet she never comes off as warm and fuzzy.