Bill Clinton thoughtful as he stumps for Obama in Reno

Published Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 | 12:13 p.m.

Updated Monday, Oct. 20, 2008 | 2:50 p.m.

RENO -- This was not an on-message, top surrogate event that the Obama campaign might have hoped for to fire up a crowd and get them to vote early for the Democratic ticket.

Former Pres. Bill Clinton, before a crowd of 1,200 at Truckee Meadows Community College, delivered a 45 minute speech that rambled at times, and praised Sen. Barack Obama's measured response to the financial crisis.

The auditorium was mostly quiet through the speech, with his one big applause line coming when he declared that Nevada could become the first state in the nation that is truly energy independent.

Clinton noted the crowd's quiet towards the end of his speech.

Quoting Mark Twain, he said: "Nothing so concentrates the mind as the prospect of one’s own demise. We're thinking, here, aren’t we? Here we are two weeks before the election, this place as quiet as a church," he said. "We know we have a candidate who could stand and deliver."

He said the next president needs to fix the financial system, restore the country's economy, and repair America's standing in the world.

"This will not be a close election unless people forget what this election is all about," he said. He asked the crowd: "Talk to people, don’t get mad at anybody. We can’t afford to be mad."

At one point, he noted a sign that said "Turkish-Americans for Obama" and veered off into a point that Turkey is one of the most underappreciated countries for the future of foreign policy.

At another point, he noted McCain going back to Washington to try to pass the financial bailout, but that Republicans defeated the first version. "It was like they took an Uzi and emptied it into his body," Clinton said.

He praised Obama for his response to the financial crisis, reaching out to his own economic advisers to try to understand the crisis, despite criticism from the time.

"He got some criticism, which, for Sen. Obama is rare, almost unheard of, because the press likes him so much," Clinton said. (He was critical of what he said was Hillary Clinton's rough treatment in the press and Obama's supposed mild treatment during the primary.)

"We have to put brightest and best minds on this," he said of the fiscal crisis. "This is important: Barrack Obama is not afraid of smart people."

. . .

12:13 p.m.

Sen. Harry Reid introduced former President Bill Clinton in Reno this morning.

Reid riffed about his mother, growing up in Searchlight, how he and his brothers would "fire rocks" at the tin outhouse while his mother was in it.

She told them they'd regret it when they saw her body going into the grave, "cold, gray and dead."

"I've been thinking about that in recent weeks," Reid says. "This economy is cold, gray and dead."

He cites the latest economic news about rising unemployment rate in Nevada, lost jobs.

He repeats the phrase: "That means the economy is cold, dead and gray."

He said under President Clinton, things were better. "When President Clinton was in office, those eight years were not like these past eight years."

Clinton on to speak now.

Discussion: 9 comments so far…

By neiman1

10/20/08 at 12:25 p.m.

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The forward looking pessimist harry Reid. The man who declared the War in Iraq lost over a year ago. The man who with his master Queen Pelosi has prevented every attempt at domestic energy for a decade. The harry Reid that did more to cause this financial disaster than anyone except his Banking Committee Chair Chris Dodd. Of course he wants trouble. That's the only way the democrats thought they could win. Why harry did ACORN receive $31 Million Dollars in federal grants last year? Why harry Reid did YOU try to insert a $140 BILLION dollar payment plan to ACORN and LaRaza in the $700 billion rescue plan. You have a lot of explaining to do harry. Nevada needs to stand up and stop these idiots and their tax it all plan.
By peterclarke

10/20/08 at 12:48 p.m.

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Besides the obvious concern about the qualifications of Obama, this election is about which way the country will go. Socialism(Democrats) or Capitalism(Republicans).

Obama plans to give your hard earned tax dollars to 100 million American who do not have to pay taxes or do not have to file taxes. This is not a tax cut but a welfare cheque.

He does not want to give small or large businesses a tax break but wants to raise business and corporate taxes. This will never produce a single job.

He plans to give unions power similar to unions in Canada, which have destroyed Canada's auto and manufacturing industries. He wants to renegotiate the free trade agreements, because the unions with their ever increasing demands have made it harder for American corporations and small businesses to compete with global trading partners.

He wants to talk, with out any conditions to radical terrorists and dictators from Cuba, South America and Europe.

He wants to jump into a new and prolonged war of 10, 15 or 25 years in Afghanistan, without any time frame or exit strategy.

Barack Hussein Obama is a lawyer with no historical perspective, but with great rhetoric and hype of hope and change. He is social worker; a Junior legislator of less than 2 years, who votes present 40% of the time and votes 100% along party lines. He or Biden do not have a record of change. No change, with zero accomplishments.

The Obamas financed their house from a convicted money launderer, has a racist preacher as his spiritual adviser, associates with an unrepentant Williams Ayers a 60's radical who admits to bombings of government buildings. His wife, until recently was not proud of America. Not the time for a four year equal opportunity on the job training program. Keep smiling"
By johnevegas

10/20/08 at 1:15 p.m.

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Nice to know I don't have to waste my time watching Fox or listening to Rush Windbag. It's all right here!

Arab? Muslim? Terrorist? Socialist? How many more scary words can you guys come up with?

I do admit though, it's fun watching you righties panic.
By mikegino

10/20/08 at 1:19 p.m.

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I hope Harry enjoys his last two years in office.
By redferret

10/20/08 at 1:33 p.m.

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Wow, Clark all you do is spam your nonsense everywhere. At least have the gall to write new stuff, spamo.
By revtomperl

10/20/08 at 4:40 p.m.

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The Rev. Jeremiah Wright is a singular moral and ethical leader of the first order. Please consider the depth of his good works as a servant of God as well as in the service of thousands of humans. God save each of you and may he bless all of his children of all persuasions and of all nationalities and groups. May he even bless the extremists on the right who just don't understand or accept the wonder and joy of the world in which we live.
By johnevegas

10/20/08 at 6:09 p.m.

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"May he even bless the extremists on the right who just don't understand or accept the wonder and joy of the world in which we live."

Amen.

I've been a member of 4 Christian religions. They we're all angry about something and said things that, when taken out of context, sounded sensational.

Didn't Bill Cunningham just call Obama the Anti-Christ? Is that not outrageous? Does that mean that Bill is a horrible man? Well, probably is his case, yes.
By redferret

10/20/08 at 9:56 p.m.

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You know dude, you might want to preface this spurge of links with what they are about, and why I should waste my time picking through them all.