The Bill and Hillary show begins in NH

KEENE, N.H. – The stage was set on top of a high school football field. More than 1,000 people filled the stands. The local state senator was introduced to the stage along with Hillary Clinton. Lagging behind to booming applause was the former president Bill Clinton.

It was the first time the pair has been on the same stage together in New Hampshire since 1992. From Keene they plan to speak at rallies later today in Nashua and Manchester.

Introducing his wife, Bill apologized for the event starting nearly an hour late because of a Senate vote earlier this morning on a Department of Defense spending bill.

“The reason we are late today is not me,” Clinton joked about his reputation for often being very late to campaign appearances.

As he did in Iowa last week, he called his wife the “most prepared non-incumbent ever to run for president.”

This is the second time Hillary has campaigned for president in Keene. Keene is the center for Cheshire County, the only county in New Hampshire with more registered Democrats than Republicans.

The pair drew on their experiences of campaigning here for Bill in the 1990s. Hillary said her first trip here was in 1991 to attend the city’s annual pumpkin festival. For Bill, Keene is more symbolic. It was after an event in this city that drew 400 people that he first believed he could actually get elected.