Clinton no-show: Not much excitement here for former president

There was a time when a visit from former President Bill Clinton would have packed a house, with hundreds waiting outside, just in case a couple of extra seats opened up.

Not so this weekend, when the charismatic former commander in chief did not even fill up half of the Eastern Wayne High School auditorium.

So, what’s the reason?

Some of it could be apathy. It was Saturday afternoon, and people are tired of hearing about the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

And some of it also could be Clinton was in a military town — a place where those who live here know all too well what his decisions in the White House did to the nation’s military strength and the people who served in the armed forces.

Who knows.

But there are several conclusions that might be drawn from the less than stellar attendance of the Bill Clinton campaign stop.

The first is that perhaps Hillary Clinton should take this as a sign that there are more than a few people who think this race is already over — and, also, that perhaps her husband is not the best ambassador for her campaign.

The other is that perhaps this country has really not forgotten all that came with Bill Clinton’s presidency.

And then there is even a third possibility, that Americans simply are too busy with their own lives to worry about an election that is more than a few months away.

Let’s hope it is not that they just don’t care.

Hopefully in the coming weeks, Barack Obama will make his way here and we will see what he has to say. And, later, we will open our doors again for John McCain.

Let’s hope by that time, more of us will be interested in talking about the future and which candidate is best-suited to lead us there.

Published in Editorials on April 14, 2008 11:21 AM