And Now In Local News

Normally Indiana is ignored in the primaries. Well, friend, truth be told, most of the time Indiana is ignored in just about everything! But this year Indiana actually has some influence in the upcoming Democratic primaries. (We vote tomorrow.)

As a result, Bill Clinton was in Warsaw, Indiana. Yes, that's right, Warsaw, Indiana.

Warsaw is right next door to my little lake side hamlet of Winona Lake. So, I went to see Bill speak on Saturday.

It was a good time. His message was conservative, no big surprise there. I was a bit worried at the outset of the speech because Bill seemed like he was zoning out! In fact, his mouth was kind of hanging open and he was leaning forward such that some high school guys behind me started laughing and joking that he was going to fall over.

Ah, but once Clinton started speaking, he got in the zone. The man is a very influential politician. He was very passionate and on point, glancing only infrequently at his notes. I was very impressed.

There was a young woman with him on stage, which of course caused the high school guys behind me to start cracking jokes. Being of a depraved mind, I joined in the course jesting and suggested that I had seen a young woman who had carried in a sign saying, "I want to be the next Monica." Yes, friend, I am wrong.

The President began his speech by saying, "This country is in trouble. And you know it." His tone was emphatic; he reminded me of sitting around a dinner table listening to my grandfather lecture. A few times during the speech, Clinton took a stern tone, warning the crowd that the United States had drifted off point from the utopia he created in the nineties. What is interesting is that Clinton never spoke of Barack. I don't recall him mentioning any other politicians by name, with the exception of mentioning a few local Democrat politicians. Only a few times did he mention "the other candidates."


Former Pres Bill Clinton Works Tough Crowd in Warsaw
(Hhhhmmmmm....I don't recall the crowd as being "tough," despite the fact that Warsaw is a staunchly Republican town. In fact, I recall quite a bit of applause and enthusiasm from the crowd. All in all, I would say that Bill had a very warm reception and good turn out.)
Bill Clinton visits Plymouth and Warsaw

Here is a hilarious Youtube clip of something of a typical Indiana local who couldn't get their camera to work in time!


In other local news...

Unfortunately for me, I missed the chance to hear Obama. He was in Ft. Wayne and then made a surprise stop yesterday in Elkhart, Indiana. Ft. Wayne is about 45 mins away and Elkhart is only 20 minutes or so. Darn. I would have liked to see Obama.