May 17th, 2008
Sheriff's
Department Assists With Former President Clinton's Visit
By Bill Bartleman bbartleman@paducahsun.com--270.575.8651
Former President Bill
Clinton says the votes cast Tuesday in Kentucky's presidential primary are just
as important as those cast in the Iowa caucus on Jan. 3.
"Don't let anybody fool you that your vote doesn't count," he told
about 400 people Friday afternoon at a rally in Paducah for his wife, Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton. "Don't listen to the pundits who say the race is
over. It is part of their strategy to get you to not vote or cave in."
He said his wife can still muster enough delegates to win the nomination even
though she trails Sen. Barack Obama by 182 delegates with five primaries
remaining.
Clinton said his wife needs a victory in Kentucky similar to her 41 percent
margin last Tuesday in West Virginia.
Obama in public speeches has conceded Kentucky to Clinton, hasn’t been in
the state since a visit to Louisville last week and has no plans to return
before Tuesday. He’s been spending most of his time campaigning in key
battleground states for the fall election.
A poll last week of 500 voters by the Lexington Herald-Leader and WKYT-TV
showed Clinton with a 27 point lead in Kentucky with 11 percent uncommitted.
Chief Deputy Mike Turnbow and K-9
Shadow perform a bomb sweep at the Julian Carroll Expo Center prior to Former
President Clinton's arrival
Bill Clinton told the
Paducah crowd that a big victory in Kentucky is a key step to giving
her a lead in the
popular vote by June 3, when the last primary will be held.
He said a lead in the popular vote will help to convince uncommitted
superdelegates to vote for her. Her victories in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Florida
should influence superdelegates, he said. “No one has been elected president
without carrying two of those three states,” he said.
As Clinton traveled by car from Owensboro to Madisonville and then to
Paducah, he called many of the nation’s uncommitted superdelegates to urge
them to withhold their commitments until after Kentucky’s primary, according
to Jerry Lundergan, Hillary Clinton’s Kentucky campaign chairman.
“He’s on the phone the entire time we are on the road,” Lundergan said.
“He’s really working hard at it.”
Kentucky has eight superdelegates. Three are committed to Clinton, two to
Obama and three are undecided. The undecided delegates include Gov. Steve
Beshear and state Democratic Party Chairwoman Jennifer Moore. Both said they
would wait until after Tuesday’s primary to make a commitment.
Clinton also spoke to several hundred people at a rally in Murray. His
comments were similar to those in Paducah, where he spoke for about 45 minutes.
He spent most of his time outlining his wife’s pledges to create more jobs,
provide affordable health insurance coverage for all Americans, promote research
for clean-coal technology, health care and end the war in Iraq.
At the Paducah rally, two people needed medical attention because they
fainted, according to McCracken Sheriff Jon Hayden. One was a woman in her late
60s and the other a young girl about 9 years old.
Hayden said both tired from standing in line and were affected by the heat
inside the Paducah Expo Center created by the crowd gathered around the podium.
Both were treated at the scene and were not taken to a hospital, Hayden said.
Story © Paducah Sun 5/17/2008
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