Published: March 12, 2008 08:30 pm            

Hillary a 'change-maker,' Bill Clinton tells audience

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has used promises of “change” to build a lead over one-time front-runner Hillary Clinton.

But if the multiple references to change in Bill Clinton’s speech Wednesday were any indication, the Clinton camp is not about to allow Obama to monopolize that word.







“She’s the best change-maker I’ve ever known – better than me,” the former president said during an appearance at Greater Johnstown High School.

Little more than a week removed from much-needed primary wins in Ohio and Texas, and with the critical Pennsylvania primary slated for April 22, the Clinton campaign rolled into Johnstown Wednesday afternoon.

And Democrat-dominated Cambria County responded, showing enthusiasm both outdoors – in a line that stretched halfway around the high school – and indoors, with a crowd cramming into the school’s gym to hear Clinton speak.

The nation’s 42nd president delivered a 45-minute, policy-packed speech that might have seemed more like a social studies class for students who mixed into the audience.

But Clinton also flashed his trademark charisma, getting laughs and frequent rounds of applause as he laid out his wife’s policies and promised that she would “restore the middle-class dream.”

He detailed Hillary Clinton’s plans to make America energy-independent, spending several minutes on the possibility of developing a car that gets 100 miles per gallon.

Other topics included:

• Making college education more affordable, in part by increasing federal grants and tuition tax credits.

• Investing in manufacturing with a modern approach, making “tomorrow’s products with tomorrow’s materials.”

• Withdrawing troops from Iraq and making Iraqi leaders more responsible for that country’s future. Clinton said the U.S. military is overtaxed and “just about broken.”

• Improving America’s standing in the international community. Bill Clinton used that topic to promote his wife’s foreign-policy experience.

“She’d be the best commander-in-chief and the best diplomat-in-chief,” he said.

Health care was a central part of Bill Clinton’s speech, with the former president calling America’s insurance system “insane.”

Hillary Clinton’s plan would require coverage for all Americans, with Bill Clinton promising that “nobody gets charged an arm and a leg” for that insurance.

In one of the few direct jabs at Obama during his speech, Clinton said his wife’s opponent has a plan that would leave millions of people without health coverage.

Obama’s campaign said the difference is relatively simple: Obama would not mandate that everyone buy insurance.

“Sen. Obama does not believe that the reason millions of Americans lack health insurance is because nobody forced them to buy it,” spokesman Matt Lehrich said.

“That’s why he has put forth a universal health-care plan that will cover every American and reduce annual health-care premiums for the typical family by $2,500.”

That back-and-forth will continue across Pennsylvania in the coming weeks. The Clinton campaign already is canvassing the state with appearances by Hillary, Bill and Chelsea Clinton.

In an e-mail Wednesday, Clinton officials accused the Obama campaign of “turning its attention away from Pennsylvania.”

Obama’s camp, of course, begs to differ.

“We recognize that we come into Pennsylvania as underdogs in this campaign,” Lehrich said. “But we look forward to the challenge.”

        

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