Warning of Threats, Clinton Sells Clinton

Bill Clinton introduces his wife, presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton, before a recent campaign speech in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. (By Charlie Neibergall -- Associated Press)

Former president Clinton's firm adherence to the closing argument that his wife is the best qualified to be president has been a cause of quiet relief to those Hillary Clinton aides who had come to worry about his occasional freelancing. It has allowed the campaign to use Clinton in the final hours as they had hoped: As a charismatic advocate for the candidate, with a booming megaphone, who can help boost turnout in Iowa on Jan. 3.

But there is another subtext, as well. Clinton is able, some supporters believe, to help neutralize the concerns among women about the authenticity of the Clinton marriage. For those women, who may in the final hours remain uncertain about supporting the former first lady, it can be helpful to see her husband onstage demonstrating their personal connection.

The former president has been making stops both with his wife and on his own. During a church service in Waterloo, Iowa, last weekend, Clinton wrapped his arm around his wife as they listened to the preacher before introducing her as someone he had admired for more than three decades. On Friday and Saturday, Clinton was on his own, first in Iowa and then in New Hampshire. He is scheduled to return to Iowa on Sunday for another two full days of events -- starting in the western part of the state, while his wife is covering the opposite end of Iowa in the east -- before the two rejoin in Des Moines for a 10 p.m. rally on New Year's Eve.

At the VFW hall in Nashua, Clinton spent much of the 45-minute speech talking about the achievements of his own administration, and took several of his characteristic detours into the depths of policy detail, on the fine points of improving energy efficiency in buildings, expanding biofuels and reducing medical paperwork. But he made sure to veer back relatively quickly to his case for Hillary Clinton, describing her work in child advocacy before 1992 and her role in expanding health care and assisting in diplomatic ventures abroad while in the White House.

"If Hillary and I had not been married since 1975 and she had asked me to come here and I had known her all these years anyway, knowing what I do about the presidency and the demands of the current moment, I would come here in heartbeat to campaign for her," he said. "Because I think she's the best qualified person seeking the candidacy I've ever had a chance to vote for, including me in 1992."

That Clinton, who took no questions, hewed so tightly to the script of his usual pitch to undecided voters was particularly notable, given that he was addressing an audience of mostly committed supporters who already knew many of the things about Hillary Clinton that he was describing. He even asked them to sign campaign supporter cards, the standard entreaty to undecided voters, even though most in the room had already done so and were even signed up to volunteer before the primary.

But several of those in attendance said the speech had served a purpose, nonetheless, reminding them just how much they admire the Clintons and how important it is that the Clintons win back the White House. "It reinforces, it really does," said Betty Maddocks, a retired nurse from Nashua who was so excited about Clinton's election in 1992 that she and her husband went to Washington for a week for the inauguration. "The world loves Bill Clinton."

In an interview Saturday, former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack, a prominent Clinton ally in the state, said there was no doubt that the former president was still helping to sway undecided voters. "I was just with him for two days, and I can't tell you how many people came up to me after his talk to say, 'I didn't realize Hillary had done so many things in her life,' " he said. "He basically persuaded them to become Hillary Clinton supporters."

Kornblut reported from Eldridge. Staff writer Peter Baker in Iowa contributed to this report.