Meeting Bill Clinton

I attended a reception with Bill Clinton this evening. I was surprised by the small number of people at the event, about 200. It was great for me because I was able to meet the former President and hear his remarks to the faithful. At the same time, I was disappointed and somewhat surprised that he was taking time out of his schedule to meet with such a small group. I talked with Tom Dwyer, a close friend of the Clintons', after the event who told me that they raised about $200,000, which is pocket change these days. Tom believes that Hillary is going to have a difficult time raising money during the next few months because her base is more or less tapped out. Tom's assessment was confirmed by Bill Clinton's plea to us to ask our friends to contribute anything they can. And that is certainly true among the volunteers I've been working with. Most of the people I've met in the campaign make under $75,000 a year and have contributed about $1,000 or more over time. I went to the event with my friend Mansi; we were able to attend the $1,000 reception for a small contribution because we are getting to know people in the campaign. Mansi and I just can't afford to contribute that much these days. Still, Tom told me that Hillary will return to Boston before the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania. It is very clear to me that the campaign is relying on fundraising in the Northeast.

I have to say that even in these cynical times it was thrilling to hear Bill Clinton talk about the campaign. I saw Bill and Al Gore several times in Ohio when they were campaigning in 1992 but there is something about listening to the former President of the United States. His comments came from such a wealth of experience this time around. He launched into a tutorial about the mortgage crisis that took my breath away. I wish I could have taken notes. It was an amazing performance. He is so brillant yet manages to connect to the audience in a very sincere way. He said that he spent time attending "little ol meetings in West Virginia and looked in people's eyes and knows that people will support Hillary." You believe him! He said that people "like Hillary" in Florida, West Virginia, and elsewhere and then made a case for her candidacy that was very convincing. Still, I also got a sense of how easily he gets into trouble. He is very free with his criticism of the Obama campaign and makes everything very personal. He told us how he danced for joy when Hillary won so convincingly in Massachusetts despite endorsements for Obama that were supposed to be so influential. He didn't mention Kerry and Kennedy by name, but it was clear that he was thrilled by the result of the contest and that it was very personal--and competitive. Far more than Hillary, he is very emotionally invested. He said that even if we didn't contribute so much to see him that night, he still would've have come to Massachusetts to thank us for such an important victory. He then called out people by name to thank. It was fascinating to hear him talk about the campaign in such personal terms.

I noticed how he lapsed into mentioning "our" campaigan and talking about "us," which I have to admit makes me nervous. While he focused on discussing Hillary's ability to lead the country, you couldn't help but see that this is a joint effort. I'm not sure what to make of it. I was convinced after several intemperate remarks he made about Obama that he was a detriment to the campaign, but after seeing him make such a passionate and articulate plea for Hillary, I'm not so sure. He's great but needs boundaries!

I stood about ten feet from Bill and was entranced by his oft reported charisma. When he looked around the room and pointed to us and said "we're counting on you to go to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, West Virginia, and Indiana," the crowd yelled back that we were going to PA. He did a wonderful job keeping us inspired and invested.

I'll say more about this event and the Team Hillary meeting I'm attending tomorrow night in the next post.