Former President Bill Clinton found a supportive crowd at Chesapeake's senior center on Wednesday, telling a packed house his wife can defeat Republican John McCain and she can change the health-care system.
Former President Bill Clinton found a supportive crowd at Chesapeake's senior center on Wednesday, telling a packed house his wife can defeat Republican John McCain and she can change the health-care system.
The Kanawha County event was billed as a meeting with seniors, but young and old alike turned out to see the former president.
"She will be the next president of the United States if you nominate her," the former president said during one of his three stops in West Virginia on Wednesday, campaigning for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in her presidential effort.
Clinton pointed to polls in such states as neighboring Ohio, which show Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., his wife's campaign nemesis, trailing McCain, the Republican nominee, while his wife is ahead of McCain.
"This thing is a long way from over," he said.
West Virginia's primary election is May 13. The next big primary contest is Pennsylvania's on April 22. Obama had a short run in which he defeated Sen. Clinton in nine states before she bounced back to win in Ohio and in the Texas primary.
"The political elite have danced on her grave already two or three times," Clinton said to the crowd of about 600 people inside the center.
While there were earlier calls for her to abandon race, the former president said no one should expect that.
"My family's not big on quitting, you probably noticed that," he said.
Clinton also said his wife will take on big drug companies and ensure health care for every person.
"This is the only rich country on the face of the earth that hasn't figured out how to do it," he noted.
Former President Bill Clinton found a supportive crowd at Chesapeake's senior center on Wednesday, telling a packed house his wife can defeat Republican John McCain and she can change the health-care system.
"She will be the next president of the United States if you nominate her," the former president said during one of his three stops in West Virginia on Wednesday, campaigning for his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in her presidential effort.
Clinton pointed to polls in such states as neighboring Ohio, which show Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., his wife's campaign nemesis, trailing McCain, the Republican nominee, while his wife is ahead of McCain.
"This thing is a long way from over," he said.
West Virginia's primary election is May 13. The next big primary contest is Pennsylvania's on April 22. Obama had a short run in which he defeated Sen. Clinton in nine states before she bounced back to win in Ohio and in the Texas primary.
"The political elite have danced on her grave already two or three times," Clinton said to the crowd of about 600 people inside the center.
While there were earlier calls for her to abandon race, the former president said no one should expect that.
"My family's not big on quitting, you probably noticed that," he said.
Clinton also said his wife will take on big drug companies and ensure health care for every person.
"This is the only rich country on the face of the earth that hasn't figured out how to do it," he noted.
Clinton explained that American-made drugs are being sent to Canada and sold for a lower price, but the Bush administration won't allow U.S. citizens to purchase them. Apparently, he joked, those drugs somehow become poison, but Canadians have developed an immunity.
The federal government is prohibited - by itself - from negotiating large drug deals with pharmaceutical firms, he said. That's because Congress and the Bush administration "chose the drug companies over you," Clinton told the crowd.
Drug firms also spend huge amounts for advertising, he noted.
"You need to know they spend twice as much on advertising than they do on research," Clinton said.
Other nations have successful drug research-production. "Switzerland, Germany, all those European countries have profitable drug industries," Clinton said.
The former president also called for a "halt on the ban of stem cell research." He hopes that can lead to a cure for Alzheimer's disease and others.
He noted the nation's huge deficit and how to solve it.
"If you want to go back to financial responsibility, you vote for Hillary and that's what you're going to get," he said.
Another 300 to 400 Clinton supporters couldn't get inside the small community center, adjacent to Chesapeake City Hall. On his way out, the former president made drivers wait while he shook hands with many and exchanged greetings with others.
Clinton drew a smaller crowd at a morning function in Parkersburg, The Associated Press reported. He also held a later meeting in Beckley.
To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5198.
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