Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
STATESMAN AND SALESMAN
Bill Clinton visits S. Florida to court voters in a ‘fairly unusual election’
He quoted scripture, prompting responses of “amen” and “preach” from some congregants at black churches. He invoked the names of some of the greatest black leaders in world history, recalling his ties with Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela. And he promoted the presidential candidacy of Hillary Clinton.
At a synagogue, he referred to the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, or repairing the world to make it a better place. And, more ominously, he warned the Jewish audience “that what is rumbling in the world is an age-old problem that if not addressed properly” can result in “devastating consequences.”
Former President Bill Clinton was in the pulpit Sunday at large churches with black congregations in Miami Gardens and near Opa-locka, then spoke at the Century Pines Jewish Center in Pembroke Pines.
Courting voters in two blocs critical to his wife’s goal of winning Florida’s 29 electoral votes, he took on multiple roles at each stop: Historical and elder statesmen. Salesman for Hillary Clin-
‘Look, I’m a white southerner. I know what ‘Make America Great Again’ means.’ Bill Clinton, former U.S. president
ton. Explainer of the forces supporting Donald Trump.
Clinton bemoaned the 2016 election as “more bitter and more angry than anyone I can remember.”
Though he didn’t mention the Republican nominee by name, Clinton said “it has been, how can I say it, a fairly unusual election. But I think it’s important that we look beyond the name callin’ and all of that to see what is goin’ on,” he said.
The Arkansas native said he grew up among the kinds of people who feel economically and socially displaced in today’s economy.
Largely because many peoples’ incomes have stagnated for years, many don’t see a future in which their fortunes, or their children’s or grandchildren’s, will be better. “So there is a lot of anger out there,” he said.
Clinton said they are “in so much pain because they don’t think they can make their tomorrows better than yesterday. And they’re vulnerable when you tell them it’s all somebody’s fault.” Many are succumbing to the notion that they’ll feel and be better off if someone else is punished. “It won’t work,” Clinton said.
“Look, I’m a white southerner. I know what ‘Make America Great Again’ means,” describing Trump’s slogan as a call to return to an era the country shouldn’t want to see again.
Clinton depicted it as a fiction that people can have the economy of 50 years ago — which he said wouldn’t happen — and move up in the world by pushing others down — which he said shouldn’t happen.
Still, he advised against lashing out at Trump supporters. “When other people show the clenched fist, you are being given the chance to show the outstretched hand,” Clinton said. “Don’t pass it up.”
“But they have always been vulnerable to us-and-them politics. Always been vulnerable to looking to somebody to blame, to look down on, to rub salt in their wounds. And the end is always disappointing.”
Wrapping up three days of campaigning in Florida, Clinton also delivered a call to action: Vote.
“[Vote] if you want America to be inclusive. If you want love to be more important than hate. If you want answers to be more important than anger. If you want empowerment to matter more than resentment,” he said. “Election Day is the only day when you are just as powerful as the richest person in America.”
Introducing Clinton to about 300 parishioners at the Fountain of New Life Church in Miami Gardens, Pastor Wayne Lomax also urged his congregation to vote. “If you all go out and vote, not only will he have had the experience and privilege of serving as our 42nd president of the United States, but he will be the first first gentleman of the United States of America,” he said.
The voice of the former presi- dent, 70, isn’t as clear or strong as it once was. But he showed he still had the skills to tailor his broader message to different audiences. He held notes at the start of his first stop but slipped them into his suit jacket after a few minutes.
At Bishop Victor T. Curry’s New Birth Baptist Church Cathedral of Faith International near Opa-locka in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Clinton swayed with the music. On his way to the pulpit, he paused to speak with the musicians, then gave a shout out to the saxophonist.
Before almost 150 people at the Century Pines Jewish Center, he recalled his two visits to Israel in the last year and history with the late Israeli President Shimon Peres, at whose funeral Clinton spoke last month.
As his yarmulke started to slip off his head, he stopped it from falling and quipped, “I never can keep one of these on without a bobby pin.”
Far more politicians were on hand at the Pembroke Pines event — including U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Debbie Wasserman Schultz — than at the Miami-Dade County stops. Clinton gave special recognition to former Florida Senate Democratic Leader Nan Rich of Weston, an incoming Broward County commissioner.
Clinton said she was one of the first to endorse his presidential candidacy, “when only my mother thought I could win.”