Political Equinox

It was Tuesday afternoon and I was romping down Lima Road in my Chevy Suburban with The Dave Ramsey Show at full blast when it hit me. I was going to see the former president of the United States of America. Not the mayor, not a councilman, but the actual president.

As I rolled past the Grand Wayne Center, the line had not yet crept outside the door, but by the time I finally got in line at 4:40pm, we were about 20 feet outside the Grand Wayne Center.

The people around me in line were extremely nice (even though my Republican roots were clearly printed on the back of my shirt), as we joked about the location - saying that they should have canceled the Mad Ants game and put Bill in the Coliseum. I mean honestly, what’s more important, basketball or Bill? The line, which would later wind down the block and back again, was slowly inching forward towards the door.

After another 20 minutes or so of waiting in the winding line through the lobby, I finally entered Room C. Taking a place just to the left of the “Media Area” (which I had been told did not exist, must’ve just not existed for bloggers). My location choice was a lucky one as I stood directly next to two fellow conservatives. I must say I was surprised to be standing next to them as we were surrounded by a room full of Democrats.

Bill entered the room a little after seven, about two and a half hours after my arrival, flanked by Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry and former Indiana Governor Joe Kernan. Henry spoke for a minute and Kernan for two before yielding to one of the greatest orators America has ever called president.

Although I didn’t agree with much of what Bill said, his delivery, his humor, and his charisma were all excellent.

In response to calls that the Clinton years were not as good as they are made out to be, Bill retorted, “What part of the nineties did you not like? Was it the peace or the prosperity?” He then promised Hillary would bring back those prosperous times.

My first cheer of the evening came when Clinton promised his wife would go back to Balanced Budgets. Something neoconservatives need to take a lesson from. A budget always balances, but that’s another story for another day. Clinton reinforced the point saying,”We have mortgaged the economic future of this country on the short term.”

The most shocking moment of the night for me came in a statement that passed right over the ears of the crowd. “You cannot run a rich country with an open economy.” Am I misreading that, or does that mean a command economy? Now, hopefully Bill isn’t implying he’s for a closed economy, as that certainly goes against American values. My gut wants to tell me he was merely calling for regulation (which is fine). I just hope that’s all he was doing.

Clinton began his speech with numbers, but as he progressed it was apparent that he was adjusting his speech on the fly (Just another great public speaking quality of the former president.). However, during his argument for universal healthcare, Bill made the claim that, “Thirty cents of every dollar you pay for healthcare goes to paperwork.” Now wait a second, you mean the government is going to reduce paperwork? Is that an oxymoron or what?

Nevertheless, my second cheer of the evening came when Bill trashed the No Child Left Behind unfunded mandate. He spewed his disgust with the law, then said, “You could drop me in the middle of Idaho, 200 miles from the nearest breathing Democrat. I could utter that phrase and the elk would applaud.” The crowd, including my Republican self, erupted with laughter.

All in all, I cheered for Bill Clinton on two issues: Balanced Budgets and No Child Left Behind. I largely disagreed with his positions, but his speech was excellent.

After the speech, I began to follow the crowd, then I stopped. I decided that I’d go for it, so I quickly strutted back to the front got close to “the line.” And after President Clinton made his way down to our end I got to shake the man’s hand.

I may never see another President in my life, let alone shake his hand (Until Patrick becomes President, of course). It took me until I arrived back home to really realize the full magnitude of what I had just witnessed.

Thanks for coming Bill. We love you here in Fort Wayne. Especially, this Republican.

Be sure to check out photos of the Bill Clinton Speech.

Tags: America, Democrats, economy, fort wayne, healthcare, IRS, president, republican, Tom Henry, Universal Healthcare