Regardless of the outcome of the midterms elections two weeks from today, undoubtedly their MVP this election season has been former President Bill Clinton. Just two years ago, who would have believed that, after the disaster for Clinton that was the South Carolina primary, as his zealous campaigning for his wife Hillary seemed to be turning off more Democratic voters than inspiring them.
But that was then. Now the commander in chief is being used every day in the last weeks of the 2010 midterms, including three appearances this week in Florida, beginning this morning in an event for Senate candidate Kendrick Meek on the USF St Pete campus.
Recent polls have shown Clinton to be perhaps the most popular politician in America, past or present. Perhaps showing how much they hold Barack Obama in disdain, some noted conservatives have shown him more love than ever in the past.
But those conservatives wouldn't be praising Clinton if they had been on the USF St. Pete campus on Tuesday.
Trailing by a large margin at the polls, Kendrick Meek spoke for just a few minutes before handing the mic to the man everybody wanted to see, the former president. Clinton began his half-hour plus speech by mentioning how much he enjoyed watching USF football – whether that was actually true or not, it allowed him to break out his football metaphor, which is that the viewers – or voters need to know the facts. He then began making the comparison of what the Republicans are offering and what the Democrats have actually done over the past couple of years.
Saying he's "seen this movie before, and if keeps going it doesn't have a happy ending," Clinton said that since the financial collapse in September of 2008, the U.S has recovered 70% of its lost income, and compared that favorably with Germany (60% he said), Japan (50%), U.K. (30%). "In other words, we're beating the competition."
Less than 10 minutes into his speech, Clinton began being heckled who by a man who called for the U.S. to get out of Afghanistan. Finally the former President stopped and snapped, "If you want to give a speech, why don't you wait until I'm finished," and the crowd erupted with one of their largest cheers of the day.
"They say they want economic growth, balanced budgets and smaller government," Clinton said, critiquing the Republican agenda, before boasting about how the economy surged during the eight years that he led the nation. He then assailed how the GOP in the early part of the last decade allowed the debt to soar.
This article appears in Oct 14-20, 2010.