Bill Clinton in Bloomington

Cathy and I had the privilege of seeing former President Bill Clinton yesterday at Assembly Hall at IU. President Clinton was in town stumping for his wife Senator Hillary Clinton in her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now I've pretty much made up my mind I've voting for Senator Barrack Obama come May 6th, but we couldn't turn down an opportunity to hear an Ex-President speak. The things that immediately struck me about the event were the big crowd, about 7000 people, the bootleg t-shirt and button venders (It reminded me of the old days of going to concerts at Deer Creek), and 3-4 protesters, some supporting Republican Ron Paul. Pres. Clinton was a good 2 1/2 hours late to the event after speaking in Seymour, Columbus and Bedford earlier in the day. Fortunately, Cathy's Mom and Sister agreed to watch Parker so we could go.

After the excruciatingly long wait and having to endure through a group of IUPUI students doing cheers and a guy in front of us with terrible B.O., Pres. Clinton was finally introduced by State Senator Vi Simpson. The main focus of his remarks concerned inequality, insecurity that accompanies the threat of terrorism and instability because of global climate change. He also talked about changes to "No Child Left Behind," high-tech/green manufacturing, alternative energy, ending the war in Iraq, and Sen. Clinton's plans for health care reform.

While Pres. Clinton didn't sway my vote, it was great to see him speak. He was funny, dynamic and genuine. He shrunk Assembly Hall down to the size of a living room. I agreed with probably 89% of what he had to say.

Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds will be in Bloomington on Sunday playing a free concert in support of Sen. Obama's campaign. I'm still hoping for a visit to Bloomington by the Senator. Cathy and I missed his last appearance in Indiana a couple of weeks ago. This next month leading up to the primary should be fun!