Bill Clinton stumps in rural East

From Wilson to the coast, he touts his wife as better qualified to lead

WILSON -- Former President Bill Clinton ambled across stormy Eastern North Carolina on Saturday, pumping up support in small towns and rural reaches for the candidacy of his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, as she battles Sen. Barack Obama to become the Democratic nominee for president.

The casual, charismatic former president ran late and long, as usual, gave energetic, high-volume speeches, and devoured the attention of fans such as Wilson's Kathryn Rowe, 64, a retired secretary.

"I'm not sure who I'm going to vote for," Rowe said after Clinton's outdoor speech on the main quad at Barton College. "I came to see Bill. He was a great president. I think a lot of people are voting for her to get him."

It's a reverse of Clinton's 1992 "two for one" campaign theme. And in the small towns where Hillary Clinton typically enjoys an edge over Obama, her husband's cheerleading is an asset her campaign hopes will help her win the state in an upset.

It worked with Karen Jensen.

"He changed my vote," said Jensen, 52, a Wake Forest construction project manager. "I was going for Obama. This is the first time I've seen the good ideas of Hillary Clinton's campaign. His speech delivered a lot of good PR for Hillary. I hope they win."

Most of the 1,000 or so people who attended Clinton's speech in Wilson, however, were Hillary backers from the start.

"No two ways about it, I think Hillary hung the moon," said Arlene Brumfield of Wilson, a daily blogger and former radio host. "I just think she is the smartest person on Earth. She's probably forgotten more than most other candidates will ever know."

Though he didn't quite say it, Bill Clinton suggested that he agreed with their daughter, Chelsea, who said that she thought her mother would be a better president than her father was. She probably would achieve more than he did, he said.

Pro-Clinton crowd

"When I was in the White House, Hillary did all the work --" Clinton started to say once.

The crowd interrupted him, laughing and clapping.

The former president was talking only about his wife's work on foster-care reform, but many in the crowd seemed to take it for granted that the former first lady was the driving force in their presidential partnership.

Even so, several in the crowd said they think Bill Clinton would easily win a third presidential term if it were legal.

"He was a very effective president," said the Rev. William Holliday, pastor of West Nash United Methodist Church. "I think he can do some good for her in North Carolina because he's a moderate Democrat -- a fiscal conservative with a social conscience."

By mixing tales of Hillary Clinton's service as a two-term U.S. senator in New York with highlights of her economic, health care and national security policies, Bill Clinton argued that his wife is best qualified to serve as president.

"The most important thing about these two impressive candidates is their innate abilities," he said. "One is a riveting speaker, and the other is a change-maker."

Reciting her strengths

Clinton touted his wife's work for rural New Yorkers. He noted her expertise on military issues and her endorsement by several former high-ranking military commanders. And he said her health-care plan is superior to Obama's because it covers everyone.

"If you're looking for somebody with the best ideas, the best record, and the best change-maker, it's not even close," he boomed.

Then he flattered the entire state: "If North Carolina votes for her," he said, "she'll be the nominee of the party and the next president of the United States of America."

Several speakers warmed up the crowd before Clinton arrived to raucous cheers.

Longtime Clinton supporter Tom Hendrickson, a Wake County developer and former state Democratic Party chairman, accompanied Clinton on what he called "the Bill Clinton Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Tour." It began Friday in Roanoke Rapids and Rocky Mount and was to include Winterville, Goldsboro, Deep Run, New Bern, and Jacksonville on Saturday.

Betty Rae McCain, a Democratic activist who was secretary of cultural resources under Gov. Jim Hunt, said her granddaughter once asked her why there has been no woman president.

"I said, 'Stick with me, honey -- we're going to fix it!' " McCain recalled. "Our opponent in this primary is an eloquent speaker, but we need real competence."