Clinton campaigns in Brownsville for Hillary

On Bill Clinton’s visit to Brownsville today, the former President saw evidence of South Texas’ progress from the bed of a pick-up truck.

“It’s been wonderful to see how much progress was made here. I hope my administration had something to do with it,” he told a crowd of about 300 people at Dean Porter Park from atop a Ford F-150. “I think it did.”

In a 20 minute speech in support of his wife’s candidacy, the United States’ 42nd President touched on a range of policy issues that have become hot topics in the 2008 Democratic Primary.

But Clinton’s speech was also punctuated by allusions to his own presidency and the promise that South Texas would be a prime beneficiary of a second Clinton in the oval office.

“She will show you even more prosperity than I showed you,” he said.

The crowd waved yellow “Hillary Clinton for President” signs that have recently dotted Brownsville’s main thoroughfares. Nostalgia for the 1990s might give Clinton the boost she needs to win Tuesday’s critical Texas primary a sentiment with which Senator Eddie Lucio introduced the former President.

“It’s time to bring the good ol’ 1990s into the 21st century,” Lucio said.

The first issue Clinton addressed - and the one to which he devoted the most time - was universal health care, a topic the campaign has long used to distinguish itself from that of Barack Obama.

“How many of you know someone who doesn’t have health care?” Clinton asked. Nearly every hand in the crowd went up. “Hillary is the only candidate who will give affordable health care to every single American.” The audience cheered.

Clinton made it clear that he was trying not only to elicit excitement, but to speak substantively and pointedly about contemporary politics.

“This isn’t just an applause line,” he said after outlining concerns about medical care for military veterans.

As of late, Clinton’s campaign has been selling clear policy analysis as an antidote to Sen. Barack Obama’s increasingly famous oratory, which, according to Clinton, often lacks substance.

Unlike Obama, President Clinton said, Hillary is not eager to break entirely with the past.

“She’s proud of her fights,” he said.

As Clinton echoed his wife’s political experience, the audience adapted a recent campaign advertisement on the topic, which asserts her capacity to lead immediately upon taking office.

“It’s 3 AM, and guess what?” a homemade sign read. “We want Hillary to pick up the phone.”

Ksieff@brownsvilleherald.com