Bill Clinton Stumps For Hillary In Montana
This story was written by Ashley Zuelke, Montana Kaimin
Former President Bill Clinton appealed to Montana voters Tuesday afternoon in Helena stressing economic, healthcare and foreign policy improvements his wife, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton, would make to create a better future for young people.
His one-day sweep through Montana began on the Hi-Line in Havre with stops in Great Falls and Helena before finishing in Butte more than ten hours later. By the time he made his third stop he was more than an hour behind schedule.
He took the stage shortly after 5 p.m. before a crowd in the hundreds at the Helena High School Auditorium.
Donning a pair of cowboy boots, Clinton began the hour-long rally in Montana terms by focusing on local issues like the present state of the rural economy and the need for alternative fuels from crops aside from ethanol that would help farmers.
"I'm the designated rural person in the family," Clinton said, citing his knowledge of crop rotation with a chuckle.
Students and educators were allowed priority seating for the event, and Clinton fittingly summed up many points throughout his speech by saying change is necessary for the wellbeing of future generations.
Within his major topics, Clinton addressed the rising cost of attending college and the right for college students to be able to pay off their student loans incrementally and in reasonable amounts.
He emphasized his wife's work on the Student Borrower's Bill of Rights and against students being "ripped off" by private loan companies.
Clinton also cited Hillary Clinton's proposed policy that would encourage students to take important, but low-paying service jobs like teaching and nursing after college without the fear of being overburdened by loans.
"Your service should repay your loan," Clinton said.
After his speech Clinton stepped off the stage into a swell of excited spectators, shaking hands and signing copies of his autobiography and even a skateboard. Some audience members wore buttons and T-shirts for the Clinton-Gore team that carried the Montana presidential election in 1992.
UM College Democrats President Scott Martin, who recently became a member of the Clinton campaign's steering committee in Montana, was able to meet the former president.
"I'm just giddy," he said afterward.
Martin told Clinton that his dad, a federal employee for 15 years, missed Clinton being his boss.
"I miss being his boss," was Clinton's response according to Martin.
Few UM students were at the rally, but Tony Brockman, a junior history major, said he couldn't turn down the rare opportunity to see a former president in a rural state like Montana.
Although he supports Barack Obama, Brockman said he appreciated Clinton's focus on "where we are and where we need to go to make sure the student generation is taken care of."
Clinton's visit to Montana came three days before the Montana Democratic Party's sold-out Mansfield-Metcalf dinner in Butte, which both Sens. Clinton and Obama will be attending.
Sen. Clinton also is scheduled to host a brunch Sunday, April 6, in Missoula at the Hilton Garden Inn with tickets ranging from $250 to $1,000.
The event-filled week signals the potential importance of the 27 delegates at stake in Montana's June 3 primary.
Reporter Ashley Zuelke traveled to Helena with UM College Democrats President Scott Martin and ASUM Sen. Siri Smillie.
© 2008 Montana Kaimin via U-WIRE