Bill Clinton Stumps for Hillary In Houston

Chris and I just got back from the Bill Clinton Rally for Hillary. The crowd was decidedly smaller than the Toyota Center for Obama yesterday, but no less energetic. In fact, it was a mostly younger and extremely ethnically diverse group of students, reflective of the UH demographics.

A full account and more pictures below the fold:

Update Bill’s speech video added

There seemed to be a slight majority of women but not by much. I suspect turnout was dampened by the sporadic rain and the late start time. Nonetheless I estimate less than 5,000 people turned out to see Bill and support Hillary! It has the effect of making the atmosphere very cozy. It also meant that we were able to get about 5 feet from the President during his speech.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee started the evening by speaking on behalf of Hillary, then handled the introductions. Congressman Kendrick Meek came all the way from Florida with the message that Florida should not be disenfranchised. In a matter of fact sort of way, he said that Florida delegates should be seated and he pointed out that Florida voted overwhelmingly in favor of Hillary. There was no mention of Michigan.

The most notable speaker was one-time Texas congressman and gubernatorial candidate, Chris Bell, who officially endorsed Hillary Clinton for President tonight. He then went on to give a well-received speech blasting the Bush administration on the Iraq war, poor ethics (slamming Tom Delay), and cronyism in the ranks, faulting it for the mismanagement of the Katrina disaster.

After rowdy bunch of students got impatient and demanded to see him with chants, Bill Clinton took to the stage and the whole arena stood up in excitement. He thanked the notable politicians and then went straight into pushing the Florida delegation agenda.

At several points, people shouted “We Love You Bill!”, and President Clinton seemed to soak it up. He looked especially pleased by the hearty Texas style welcome. Clinton gave his speech with a certain glimmer in his eye and seemed to enjoy being in front of the crowd. Throughout the evening, he made the case that Hillary was a change maker. In a subtle jab at Obama and one of his surrogates he said, “Inspiration is important. But you got to have inspiration and you have to have effective change”. He argued that the test for the best President ” regardless of race or religion” should be who will leave you better off than you were before, then made the argument that Hillary was uniquely suited to pass that test.

After the speech was over, Bill went straight over to the crowd and spent at least 40 minutes glad-handing the crowd and greeting everyone. I got to shake his hand and he autographed my copy of his autobiography. I have to say, it was pretty reinvigorating to have been there as a Hillary supporter. It definitely gives me hope that Hillary can pull off the major win in Texas that she desperately needs.

After the rally we ran into Chris Bell and I asked him if he was going to run for governor again! He gave a definitive no, but said he would be running for something else. This is very interesting considering that Kay Bailey Hutchinson is thinking of retiring (perhaps herself eyeing the governor’s mansion) and he may be positioning himself for a shot at the senate.

I’d disagree with a couple of points. It was nice to get up close and personal with Bill, but the fact that a former president couldn’t even one-third fill the Pavillion has to be worrisome to this campaign. I agree that Obama’s rally had the advantage of better weather, and the actual candidate appearing, but this turnout was still anemic.

I also vehemently disagree with the Clinton campaign continuing to call for FL delegates to be seated. Attempting to undermine the DNC rules is not a smart move for someone who will need the establishment on her side should she win the nomination.

I will say that Bill still looks every bit the politician, and clearly enjoyed being in front of the crowd, advocating for Hillary. He really seems to live for this stuff.

I think turnout may have been in line with other Bill appearances in big cities lately, 3-6k.