Clinton extols Democratic field
INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Bill Clinton yesterday touted a field of Democratic contenders as the strongest in decades and launched a spirited assault on a Bush administration he said governs through "ideology, enemies, and attacks."
"The last election was tight as a tick," Clinton told a party rally. "That election was not a mandate for radical change, but that was what we got."
Repeatedly criticizing Bush, Clinton brought thousands of activists huddled on a rain-soaked field to life. He ripped into Bush's tax cut and handling of foreign policy and joked that he was now the beneficiary of tax cuts for the wealthy.
"Don't tell me about class warfare," Clinton said. "I'm all for wealth and business. I just think we all ought to go up together."
The former president told activists that he has become rich since leaving the White House, largely due to a big book contract. "I never had a nickel until I left the White House," he said.
The tax cuts Bush pushed were Clinton's prime target. "What's the sacrifice that's being asked of people who make more than $1 million a year?" Clinton asked. "It's the energy they have to expend opening the envelopes containing their tax cuts."
Clinton spoke after seven of the Democratic presidential contenders on hand praised him.
He said Bush was given great opportunities but has largely fumbled them. "Instead of uniting the world, we alienated it," he said. "Instead of uniting the country, he alienated it."
While some have warned that the field of nine Democratic candidates will have a tough time ousting Bush, Clinton dismissed those worries. "I like this field, and I'm tired of people saying that this field can't beat an incumbent president," he said. "This is the best field of candidates we have had in decades."
Clinton's remarks came at Senator Tom Harkin's annual steak fry at Indianola, 20 miles south of Des Moines. The campaign's early front-runner, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, said he would welcome Clinton's help in campaigning should he win the nomination.
