Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 10:57 a.m.
Don't stop thinking about tomorrow. Don't stop, it'll soon be here. It'll be better than before. Yesterday's gone, yesterday's gone. -- Fleetwood Mac
Nevada Democrats were thinking about tomorrow when they watched former President Bill Clinton pick apart the Republicans during a 35-minute fund-raising speech at the Rio Sunday night.
But as they gave Clinton a standing ovation and send-off to the music of "Don't Stop," the 1970s Fleetwood Mac hit and 1990s Clinton campaign song, they also were remembering yesterday.
And it was clear that Clinton, though he's been out of office since January 2001, still has that rock-star appeal that can energize his party.
"He is as charismatic a person that there is, and people just want to be around him," said County Commissioner Rory Reid, a former state Democratic party chairman.
What isn't clear is whether the energy Clinton creates within the party will carry over to the soon-to-be Democratic nominee for president, John Kerry, who doesn't have anything close to Clinton's charisma.
On Sunday night Clinton gave some 350 Democrats a hard-hitting and thought-provoking speech, without the benefit of notes, that proved he's still the party's only weapon capable of instilling passion in the campaign to unseat President Bush.
Democratic strategists fear Clinton, who's on a nationwide book tour, is so dynamic that he could overshadow Kerry.
But his presence provides the party with the spark it needs to win in November.
"You will not recognize the America you want for your children if you let these people (the Republicans) have Congress, the courts and the White House for four more years," Clinton told Nevada Democrats Sunday night.
As president, Clinton, even at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, had no trouble attracting a crowd on the campaign trail. Sunday's fund-raiser was no different, except for the presence of fewer Secret Service agents in the house.
Followers who couldn't afford $1,000 to hear Clinton at the fund-raiser or $10,000 to have their picture taken with the former president at a private reception waited outside the banquet room for hours hoping to get a glimpse of Clinton or get him to sign a copy of his 957-page memoir.
"I'm really a big fan of his," said Linda Sue Williams, who sat on a bench, gripping her copy of Clinton's book, next to her 83-year-old mother, Beatrice. "I thought it was courageous when he didn't give up after the Republicans attacked him."
Inside the fund-raiser, it was obvious that Clinton was as popular as ever with the party faithful. Eyes lit up when he took the stage, nearly an hour late, to tell them why the GOP's platform of tax cuts for the rich at the expense of social services for the poor is flawed.
When Clinton concluded -- "Your country's on the line, and this state could make all of the difference. So bring it home." -- the crowd rose to its feet and cheered loudly for the former president. Just like in the old days.
And just like in the old days, Clinton, the rock star, left the stage to a roped-off area to spend five minutes greeting his fans on his way out of the house. People rushed to his side looking to touch him and get a personal hello.
Claudia Briggs, the communications director for the Nevada State Education Association, was ecstatic, as she ran up to her friends saying, "He shook my hand. He shook my hand."
Defense attorney Tom Pitaro proudly showed off a copy of the memoir Clinton signed for his wife.
And state Sen. Dina Titus, a 2006 candidate for governor who has seen Clinton speak many times, left the room shaking her head in awe, as she said she always does, over his ability to connect with a crowd.
"He still makes people feel like he's talking right to them," Titus said. "I think we ought to use him more."
It's one way to ensure a brighter tomorrow for Democrats.
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