Bill Clinton Visits Puerto Rico

Washington Post: Former President Makes Case For Wife On Island Rich In Culture And Delegates

(Washingtonpost.com)  This story was written by Eli Saslow.

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The four sound trucks filed onto potholed streets at 8 o'clock Monday morning, weighed down by the 800-pound speakers rigged to their roofs. They drove past the pineapple plantations, past the black-sand beaches, past the multicolored tiendas downtown.

All morning, the trucks blasted the same short message, as if repetition might make it more believable: "Sí! Bill Clinton está aquí!"

Yes, a few hours later, Bill Clinton did come to this farming town 1,200 miles from the U.S. mainland, bringing with him the 2008 Democratic presidential campaign. The former president walked into the humid courtyard of a university to a drumroll from boys banging on steel garbage cans, past security guards in Hawaiian shirts and women dancing to salsa music, to make the case for his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

It may have been the first U.S. presidential campaign rally in Puerto Rican history, but more are sure to follow. On June 1, the U.S. commonwealth will hold a Democratic primary that will help determine 63 delegates -- more than the number awarded to 24 of the 50 states. About 2.5 million voters are eligible to participate in the primary, and both Hillary Clinton and her Democratic challenger, Sen. Barack Obama, are expected to visit the island to woo them.

The 4 million residents of Puerto Rico are not allowed to participate in the general election, so they plan to press their issues during their brief turn in the national spotlight. They want better health care, higher wages and a final determination of their murky status with the United States.

Most of all, they want to inject themselves into the national conversation -- a process that started with Bill Clinton traveling Monday to five events across the island. He never came here as president -- no U.S. president has visited in 45 years -- but he spoke Monday as though he may be back soon.

"You might actually determine this election," he told the crowd in Barceloneta. "If you vote for [Hillary] and give her a big margin, she'll be the nominee and she will always honor your support."

But on Monday, the culture gap between Clinton and Puerto Ricans, who were granted U.S. citizenship in 1917, sometimes seemed insurmountable. When Clinton walked into the rally in Barceloneta, he sat on a stage and listened as four local politicians introduced him in Spanish. One introducer, among 18 local politicians at the event, turned away from the microphone and looked back at Clinton, eager to interpret for him.

"When I say 'presidente,' " the mayor said, "that means I'm talking about you."

Clinton flashed a thumbs-up and smiled wanly, but he looked distracted during the Spanish speeches. Then he walked to the microphone, shielding his eyes against the 90-degree sun. He rattled off a thank-you list of Spanish names and mispronounced two of them.

As about 1,000 people crowded under white awnings to escape the heat, Clinton proceeded to give a jargon-heavy speech in English about health care and energy efficiency. Nobody interpreted, and only a handful of audience members seemed to understand him. The crowd -- raucous and dancing a few minutes earlier -- remained mostly silent during the 10-minute speech. Some people left. Others chatted on their cellphones.

"What is he saying? Do we clap now?" asked Jerry Nieves Rosario, a college student who speaks only Spanish. "If I had known about this, maybe I would have stayed home."

Anticipating that kind of reaction, local advisers spent the past week offering Hillary Clinton's campaign a crash course in Puerto Rian politics. More than 80 percent of registered voters usually turn out for local elections here, and big political rallies held in stadium parking lots routinely attract more than 130,000, local politicians said. During mayoral campaigns, candidates often walk door to door while carrying boomboxes, dancing to music while meeting voters.

Politics is often referred to as the "national sport" in Puerto Rico -- one that is played by three main teams. There are those who want the island to become a U.S. state, those who want it to become an independent country and those who support it staying a commonwealth. Clinton and Obama both hope to cater to all three with a neutral position: the promise of a status resolution, based on Puerto Rico's preference.

Each candidate recently released a policy letter about Puerto Rico, and local politicians have spent weeks dissecting them to determine a preference. Clinton's letter was three pages long; Obama's was one. Clinton, by promising a status resolution by the end of her first term, became the popular choice for statehood supporters. Obama, by saying he would consider all three possibilities, tends to be popular among those who like being a commonwealth.

"If a candidate just picked one status option or the other it would be too dangerous, because you alienate half of the voters," said Kenneth McClintock, president of the Puerto Rican Senate and a superdelegate who supports Clinton. "They both want statehooders and commonwealthers. They need both.

"There's going to be a lot of questions about the policies there. Puerto Ricans are smart voters. You can't talk down to us. We know how democracy works. We do it better than you do, so you should follow our lead."

For Bill Clinton's visit, the campaign mostly acquiesced to the Puerto Rican model. He packed seven events, five of them public, into 30 hours on the island. Disc jockeys played at most of the venues. Dozens of local politicians made introductory speeches. On his right wrist, Clinton wore a woven friendship bracelet.

By arriving in Puerto Rico before Obama, the Clinton campaign hoped to solidify an already-strong advantage here. Clinton represents more Puerto Ricans as a senator from New York than any other stateside politician, and Spanish-speaking voters in Texas and California voted overwhelmingly for her. Obama's campaign, meanwhile, has yet to recover from the indictment last month of Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vilá, his most prominent Puerto Rican supporter.

"With a few good Clinton events, some more local press, this thing could be pretty much locked up," said Francisco Domenech, a Puerto Rican superdelegate who supports Clinton.

Domenech and other local Clinton organizers urged Bill Clinton to loosen up during his time on the island. Domenech described the mainland campaign tradition of a staid, 1970s classic-rock music introduction followed by a halting campaign speech as a recipe that is "just too tired and boring compared to things here." McClintock, the Senate president, told the Clinton campaign how one U.S. politician managed to thrive in Puerto Rico: Appearing at a fundraiser for McClintock in San Juan, the late senator Paul Simon persuaded his wife to dance the macarena.

Barceloneta set the stage for that kind of party. Two local bands alternated songs while hundreds of Puerto Ricans clapped to the beat. The stage became a makeshift dance floor, with dozens of couples twirling in the heat.

Then Bill Clinton entered through a side door,glasses low on his nose, and the festivities abruptly stopped.

"You have to be ready to adapt to some craziness over here," McClintock said. "It's a different political world, and everybody is finally going to see it."

[bluesteel121]

"Now if Hillary Clinton makes "mistatements" on Bosnian sniper fire due to exhaustion at 11:00, then how can she answer calls at 3:00am?" (SG)

[hillary4us]

I wonder if he saw this tv show in Puerto Rico? OBAMA "OUTED" ON PUERTO RICO TV PROGRAM, APRIL 8, 2008! warning explict language
http://wapa.tv/superxclusivo/

[thisandthat1]

The perfect place for him! Stay there!

[jt_lancer]

We must STOP free trade NOW!

We CANNOT allow peaceful Americans to voluntarily exchange goods and services for mutual benefit!

Americans should only be allowed to buy the goods and services that the politicians allow them to buy.

At government approved prices.

Of course, if its not good for you, Americans should not be allowed to buy it at all.

Trans fats? No way.

Cigarettes and alcohol? Not a chance.

Obesity-inducing fast food? Forget it.

Trust me, people. The Nanny State knows what is best for you.

Let us take away the heavy burden of decision-making in your life.

Let us decide what is best for you.

I''m Hillary Clinton and I approve this message.

[rowdytexan2]

Posted by jockh at 02:46 PM : Apr 08, 2008

Ain''t gonna happen! No reason in the world to give up the race when she has just as much support as he does.

[dzapple]

BILL WENT THERE TO GET SOME STRANGE

[jockh]

HILLARY CLINTON - READY TO LIE ON DAY ONE !!!!

First she denies that she was pro NAFTA. White House schedules have now been released, showing she held several high profile meetings to endorse NAFTA.

Second she tells outright lies about her bullet dodging trip to Bosnia.

Hillarys problem is that voters know how easily the Clintons lie. Next she will say well, it depends on how you define "sniper fire" and "ran" and then %u201CI DID NOT HAVE MILITARY RELATIONS WITH THAT SNIPER%u201D

Misspeaking is one thing, repeating it over and over makes it a FLAT LIE !!
Clinton simply cannot help herself.
She tells a big lie when a small lie will do. And she tells a small lie when the truth will do.
Look at the trouble the country is in because of the lies of President Bush so God help America if this woman ever gets elected.


She cannot win the Democratic nomination without causing a civil war in the Democratic Party. While comparing herself to, and praising, McCain while undermining Obama, make it appear that she is willing to do just that -- split the party in two. Seriously, can you imagine McCain saying that that he had a lifetime of experience, Hillary had a lifetime of experience, but Romney didn''t? That would never happen. It''s unacceptable. And it has to stop.

I get that it sucks to lose. But, it happens. Hillary, drop out with your head up high. Unless of course you''re ducking sniper fire again