KVNO News

Clinton steps in for Obama in Council Bluffs

By Robyn Murray, KVNO News

October 31st, 2012

Omaha, NE – Former President Bill Clinton stopped by Council Bluffs, Iowa Wednesday to make the case for President Obama’s re-election.

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[audio:https://kvnonews.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Clinton-in-CB-PM-MIX.mp3]

Obama has halted campaigning this week as he headed back to the White House to deal with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. But surrogates for the President have been on the campaign trail making his case for re-election as November 6th nears.

President Bill Clinton stumped for Obama across Iowa Wednesday and addressed about 600 people at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs. He began his speech talking about the impact of Sandy on New York City, which he said looked post-Apocalyptic in places.

He added watching President Obama survey the damage in New Jersey with Republican Governor Chris Christie reminded him of what’s important. “It reminded me that when something like this happens, we know what we ought to know every day,” he said. “We ought to know that when you get a political job, it’s still a job. And when you’re dealing with a lot of problems, there’s not a Democrat or a Republican way to solve them, you either solve the problem or you don’t.”

Pivoting to campaign mode, Clinton said that reminder is what next week’s election is all about. “We’ve got to decide whether we want a ‘you’re all in this together’ country or a ‘you’re on your own’ country,” he said, “whether we want one more round of trickle-down economics or whether we’re going to go back to shared prosperity and shared responsibility, whether we like all this crazy ideological talk or we’d like to get back to practical problem solving.”

In a typical detail-stocked speech filled with data and policy, Clinton reinforced his message from the Democratic National Convention. He said Republican Governor Mitt Romney’s economic plans are not based on “arithmetic” and create a deeper hole in the deficit with tax cuts and increased military spending. “So imagine you hire someone, you’ve got a big hole on your property, and you hire somebody to fill it in,” he said. “And the first thing they do is jump down in the hole and say, well before I fill in the hole, I’ m gonna dig it a little deeper. You would unhire them,” he said to laughter.

“But that’s what they want to do,” he said. Clinton added Romney’s jobs plan – which Romney says will create 12 million new jobs – is based on current predictions for economic growth. He said Romney is hoping he can take credit in the Oval Office for the work Obama has already done.

And that, he said, has been as much as anyone could have done. “This would not be an election if people weren’t still trying to blame President Obama for the fact that he didn’t do what no one on the face of this earth could have done,” he said, “which is repair this much economic damage in four years.”

Clinton’s stop marks the fifth high-profile campaign visit to the Council Bluffs-Omaha metro area, including one stop by Gov. Romney on the Nebraska side of the river and visits by each man on both tickets to Council Bluffs. In 2008, the Obama campaign made a strong push for Omaha’s one electoral vote, which the President won, but his campaign has far fewer offices in Omaha in 2012.

More:

Romney campaigns in Omaha

Obama comes out swinging in Council Bluffs

Biden defends Obama in Bluffs

Ryan stumps in Council Bluffs

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