Bill Clinton Stumps in North Carolina at a Furious Pace

After answering my telephone Thursday morning, I was greeted by a recorded voice, which was identified as a "friend of Hillary Clinton." The friendly voice invited me to attend a scheduled speech by former President Bill Clinton on behalf of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton.

I was uncertain as to whether these calls were directed to undecided voters, of which I am one, or was simply an attempt to ensure that the speech in Greensboro was well-attended.

Regardless of the motivation for the call, I decided to attend. How often does one get to see a former president, live and in person? I made plans to be at the Kathleen Price Bryant YMCA at 7:30 a.m. this morning. The former president was scheduled to speak at 8:30 a.m.

To the surprise of most of us in attendance, the president arrived on time (he is notorious for being late) and walked to the podium at exactly 8:30 at which time he jokingly explained his punctuality, telling us that this speech in Greensboro was only the first of seven speeches he would make in North Carolina today and that his schedule was very, very tight taking him to seven cities, roughly 30 to 40 miles apart, as he traveled westward across the state.

"The benefit for you," the president explained, "is that you won't have to listen to a very long speech."

The audience loved it.

The former president looked up to the task at hand. If there is one thing that is obvious as one attends a Bill Clinton stump speech it is that there is absolutely nothing Bill Clinton would rather do than make a political speech in front of a supportive crowd of well-wishers.

In his opening comments, President Clinton reminded those in the audience how important the voters of North Carolina would be in deciding who the Democratic nominee would be, noting that Hillary was leading polls in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia. North Carolina would be vitally important in helping her draw equal in the delegate count. He noted that this would be a historic election no matter who eventually gets elected.

North Carolina's primary is May 6.