Wanna be like Bill . . .

No matter how hard he tries, Barack will never be like Bill

I just came back from a rally for Hillary that Bill Clinton did in the Dartmouth gymn. I did not get in (not at first anyway). Apparently due to some building fire code snafu, myself and another half or so of the 200+ people standing in line for half an hour in the cold to hear Clinton speak were not let in. Not only did Bill Clinton’s staff continue to let people in as the original 100 left but also arranged for Bill to speak at a separate session at the Thayer dining hall for the people who did not get in at all. This is in contrast to both the rally I attended with Barack Obama (more flashy complete with Dartmouth acapella but short and without such concessions to include the motivated but unpunctual) and the talk on healthcare that I heard from Hillary Clinton herself when she came to DHMC (invite only without so much as a hello to those without an invitation who had to watch a closed circuit broadcast in a separate conference room). As I remember from watching him on TV and reading about him in the newspaper he was eloquent, friendly and brilliant.

Among the other things I learned are that economies with renewable energy are actually doing well Denmark along with 5 other countries that have met the Kyoto protocols. He argues that going green will not only help the planet but will be the most effective investment in jobs and industry creation that we could make as a nation. For example, we could reopen a mill in Berlin, NH making biofuels. Another interesting idea is that electric/hybrid cars may be the best intermediate green solution while we develop a hydrogen option. On international development, Bill Clinton pointed out that the world population is rising from today 6.5 billion to 9 billion in the next generation which will further the impending energy crisis and that educating the world’s poor girls especially will reap dividends in the decreasing birth rate, increasing rate of contraception, delaying the age at which young girls marry etc.

On healthcare, Bill pointed out that the most effective healthcare systems in terms of outcomes are actually places like Japan, a mixed payor system rather than Canada which is a single payor system. He believes that healthcare reform has the backing of a majority of major corporations, physicians, labor unions as well as the public and that it has a reasonable chance of being passed because of this aligning of the stars.

On politics, Bill showed off again his uncanny ability to simplify, summarize and frame the issue: the Karl Rove game plan is to divide and paint the other guy as so ugly that no one will vote for him and that for the Democrats to win, it will have to unite the people whereas for the Republicans to win all it has to do is to divide the people.

Also, that Barack’s platform of running as a candidate with 1 year of experience in the senate (which is a weakness spin-doctored into a strength which he calls “change”) and a candidate with “good judgement” having supposedly been against Iraq from the start but who said in 2004 that he “agrees with the Bush position on Iraq”

(I couldn’t find the exact quote but there is a good article from the Boston Globe analyzing his voting record on Iraq:
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/03/20/obamas_record_shows_caution_nuance_on_iraq/
)

To the claim that Hillary is old news, Bill argues that Hillary is endorsed by the greatest number of both Republican and Democratic senators (10) and commands a great deal of respect in the Senate. He also used an effective anecdote that Magic Johnson said that the older he got, the less his vertical became and the slower he got but that he got better taking the pressure shots and that he believes the same is true in politics.

To the claim that the Clintons are a dynasty, Bill shared an anecdote that he actually tried to convince Hillary to leave him just after law school because he thought she was such a capable person and politician and didn’t want to hold her back to which she replied “I won’t ever run for political office, I’m interested in a bunch of other things”

And as always, he added a personal touch, something only he can do with that signature lowering and softening of his voice, somber glint of the eye conveying sincerity, genuineness and warmth. He told a story of a golf caddie he had who took him by the arm during a round of golf and told him that he was really not a caddie but the Captain of a NY regional fire department and that Hillary must win because of what she had done for all of the firefighters of NY. These brave men and women had breathed in the asbestos and benzenes produced by the demolished buildings and even as the federal government refused to pay for medical bills, even sending the EPA in to declare that this would not cause any health problems, Hillary as Senator proposed and passed legislation that ensured that these firefighters who subsequently developed health problems would have their hospital bills paid for. As he finished the story and described the tears streaming down his face, you could almost see his eyes glisten and hear his voice crack.

I think I’ve made up my mind . . . I’m voting for Bill Clinton for President