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Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: Opinion

Former president Bill Clinton was the headliner at an Obama rally at Campbell Memorial High School on Thursday.

With only five days until the general election, the Obama campaign is hoping to close the deal on an election which the Democrat leads in nationwide polls. Part of their strategy is sending surrogates like Clinton to make the case in battleground states like Ohio, where the poll numbers are much closer than on the national scale.

Clinton attempted to answer members of the media and the Democratic party, who have criticized him for not giving Obama a strong enough endorsement. His speech focused on what he believes are the positive aspects of Obama's policies, and praised the nominee's character and judgment.

Clinton said he'd read both candidates policies and "Obama's is better on economics and on energy."

Clinton said Obama had figured out how to "turn his good intentions into real changes." Clinton said Obama has a knack for building a massive campaign, citing his use of text messages and the Internet throughout the primary season against Clinton's wife, New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"That's what a good president does," said Clinton.

He said Obama would make decisions that would be similar to the ones he made while in office.

"Decisions are what gave us 23 million new jobs in the nineties and less than five million over the last eight years," he said.

Clinton argued against criticisms from Republican nominee John McCain that Obama's economic policies amount to socialism.

"[Good] economy works from the bottom up. You all knew that back in the nineties when you put me in the White House. This isn't redistribution. This is working from the bottom up, not from the top down," he said.

Audience members were mostly pleased with Clinton's speech, although they said it was too short.

"I think it went well, and I hope people listen to him," said Victor Reyes of Campbell. "It could have been longer."

Jared Reichard, the events coordinator for the Obama campaign in Youngstown said he thought the event went well.

"Anything they touch turns to gold," said Reichard. "It's always a success with the Clintons."

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