Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Magic in the Clinton camp

Former President Bill Clinton, his daughter Chelsea and former basketball star Magic Johnson stumped for Sen. Hillary Clinton Thursday at Legacy High School in North Las Vegas.

On a day when students had the afternoon off following mid-term exams, they, along with teachers and union members, had the chance to talk to the former president during a nearly 90-minute meeting.

The questions touched on the major issues in the Democratic campaign, including Iraq, health care and the economy.

But there also was time for some light jabs at Hillary Clinton's top challenger in Nevada, Sen. Barack Obama.

“We don’t need someone who’s preaching hope,” said Johnson, alluding to Obama’s stump speech. “We need someone who understands the problems and is preaching solutions.

“The more I played and the more I practiced the better I became," added Johnson, who has made investments in Las Vegas since retiring from basketball. "When I think of Hillary and her 35 years in politics, she’s playing her game better than anyone in this race."

Clinton took more than a dozen questions, using his answers to reiterate that his wife would call for a plan to start withdrawing troops from Iraq and push for clean energy, using the industry's expansion to help create

jobs.

But the former president also took another swat at the competition.

“Obama said the job of the president is to set a vision and not run a bureaucracy,” Clinton said. “But the president is called the chief executive officer of the United States. That means it’s your job to change other

people’s lives.”

Clinton also fielded the obligatory question about what his role would be in the White House if his wife is elected. “We haven’t discussed it much and we won’t and shouldn’t," he said. "I’m wildly superstitious about not looking past the next election.”

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