SMITHFIELD - Hillary Clinton, "a world-class change-maker," is the presidential candidate who can best serve the needs of future generations, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, told about 2,600 supporters at Bryant University's Chace Athletic Center Thursday afternoon.
As the state's primary on March 4 draws closer, presidential candidates are vying for Rhode Islanders' support like never before. Last Sunday, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic senator from New York, attended a rally with more than 4,100 people at Rhode Island College. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Michelle Obama, wife of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., also attended rallies in Warwick this month.
Clinton began his address by thanking Rhode Island, which many Democrats have lately referred to as "Clinton Country," for its long-standing support of the family.
"No state in America has been better to me and to our family," he said.
The former president emphasized that he is campaigning for Hillary Clinton not because she is his wife, but because he believes she is best prepared to be the country's next president.
"I do love her, but I also love my country," he said.
Clinton said his wife's experiences working for the Children's Defense Fund in Massachusetts and spearheading school reform programs in Arkansas show her commitment to bettering the lives of the less privileged, the neglected and the abused.
Speaking to a crowd of mostly college students, Clinton said his wife has the "right ideas for your future."
Unlike Hillary Clinton, who criticized Obama a few times in her speech at RIC last week, Clinton praised Obama for "inspiring people" and raising money successfully over the Internet.
But Clinton said it is important for the next president to realize that today's economy is very different from that of the 1990s - a fact, he said, "the other campaign" does not recognize.
"Here's the problem with the American economy: 90 percent of the benefits in this decade have gone to the top 10 percent of owners," he said.
Clinton said the number of new jobs has fallen significantly in the past decade, as nearly five million people have been forced out of the middle class into poverty.
He said his wife is committed to providing health care to every American, making college more affordable, creating millions of "green-collar" jobs for people "at all education levels," investing in science and technology and fighting global warming.
Hillary Clinton has worked across party lines to bring about positive change in the past and will continue to do so as president, her husband said.
Clinton also spoke about his wife's goal to utilize the resources being wasted in Iraq to win the war on terror against al-Qaida in Afghanistan.
"There is a danger to your future," he said. "We still haven't caught the people who did (the Sept. 11 attacks) because we put six times the resources in Iraq as in Afghanistan."
Attacking President Bush, Clinton said sometimes the president can easily become isolated from the public and "forget what life is like for real Americans."
"Look at the damage done in Bush's second term," he said, making reference to the president's inadequate response to the plight of Hurricane Katrina victims.
Some Bryant students at the rally said Clinton spoke to the crowd on a human level by narrating anecdotes and offering clear explanations of his wife's policy ideas.
Heather Greenwood, a Bryant senior, said the president's speech swayed her toward Hillary Clinton, who seems to have "reasonable, logical" ideas.
But Greenwood said she will still look into Clinton's positions more closely before casting her vote.
Clinton's stop in Rhode Island was a "positive thing" for his wife's campaign because Rhode Islanders admire him and "remember how much better" the state was during his presidency, said Craig Auster '08, one of the co-leaders of Brown Students for Hillary.
Jeremy Feigenbaum '11, another member of Brown Students for Hillary, said he liked that Clinton explained many of his wife's positions - instead of simply asking people to vote for her.
Ann-Marie Grilli, a Clinton supporter from North Providence, said the former president has not "lost his touch" and connects well with his audience.
"He always speaks very specifically," Grilli said. "He doesn't ramble."
Melinda Voci, another supporter at the rally, said she came all the way from Dallas "to show Hillary that Texas is 100 percent behind her."
"The Latino community will not fall prey (to) the union pressure to vote for Obama," she added. A Feb. 23 poll conducted by Rasmussen Reports, a private public opinion company, showed Clinton leading Obama by 15 points in Rhode Island.
