Clinton visits Cranberry
CRANBERRY TWP — At his second job as a golf caddie, a New York City firefighter told former President Bill Clinton on a golf green why Hillary Clinton should be the next American president.
Following Sept. 11, 2001, she was the first person who knew emergency responders could get sick from breathing the toxic air at Ground Zero, and she fought for proper diagnosis and treatment, the firefighter told President Clinton.
"That's the kind of person who ought to be president; somebody who knows what it's like to be me," the former president related.
Clinton told that story to several hundred people Wednesday evening at the Rose E. Schneider Family YMCA who came to hear the former president stump for his wife. Pennsylvania's primary is Tuesday.
Appearing at 7 p.m., Clinton was only about 30 minutes behind in a daylong schedule that took him through Indiana, Kittanning, Clarion and New Castle.
"I want you to know it's people like you in places like this that have kept Hillary in a position to win this election," he told the crowd.
<table width="300" height="275" border="0" align="right" valign="top" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><embed src="/assets/mov/BE43723417.MOV " width="320" height="250" autostart="true" loop="false" ></embed></td></tr><tr><td align="center"><b><a href="http://video.butlereagle.com/video/billclinton.html" target="_blank">CLICK HERE to see Bill Clinton's entire speech!</a><br><a href="http://www.apple.com/quicktime/" target="_blank"><span class="style11">Requires Quicktime Media Player </a><br><font size="1" face="Tahoma, Times New Roman">Video by Brandon Gerthoffer</font></span><td></tr></table>Clinton delivered his "Solutions for America" talk for about 30 minutes, describing Hillary's answers to the rising costs of fuel and health care, to reducing energy consumption, to dealing with falling employment rates and to improving education."You don't have to take my word for it, although I have had this job and I know a little about it," Clinton said.Calling the economy "out of whack," Clinton cited high energy prices, which lead to the rising costs of fuel and food, as well as the mortgage crisis, ballooning health care costs and declining coverage and lack of energy independence."What you need is a president who will rebuild the middle class, give the poor people a chance to work their way into it, reclaim the future for our kids and reform the government to make it possible to give it back to you," he said.With Hillary, education would improve for all children, from pre-kindergarten through college, he said.Under his wife's presidency, the No Child Left Behind Act, which was pushed by President George W. Bush, would be "radically changed" and Hillary's Student Borrowing Bill of Rights would allow more students to attend and finish college without going bankrupt, he said.
President Clinton also outlined his wife's plan for universal, a la carte health care affordable for all Americans.Speaking about the housing crisis, Clinton said, "If a million people lose their homes, it will blow away whatever positive impact of this little stimulus check you will get after your taxes are filed."Clinton said when he was president, his wife asked to be the lead advocate to ensure Vietnam and Gulf War veterans were taken care of by the United States. That shows her commitment to helping others."The presidency is about inspiring the American people to do the right thing," which can be achieved through speeches such as those delivered by his wife's Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, Clinton said."Or you could focus on empowering the American people to make their own future, and that's what Hillary's a genius at, and I think that's more important."<br></br><br></br><br></br>
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