Clinton's a hit in Utah

Former President Bill Clinton raised $350,000 from Utahns Sunday during a brief campaign stop in the state for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

While most of the money came from a private fund-raiser held at a Park City home that cost as much as $2,300 to attend, some 1,500 Utahns contributed a total of about $50,000 to hear Bill Clinton speak in the University of Utah's student union ballroom.

He spent a half-hour describing why Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., is the best candidate to tackle the problems the country is facing, including a military that needs rebuilding and an international reputation that is suffering.

"The most urgent priority is getting America's standing back," Bill Clinton said. "She'll do that more quickly than anyone else." He said the new president will need to make it clear the country is "back in the cooperation business" and uses military force only as a last resort.

And, Bill Clinton said, his wife is the candidate who can rally bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. "The only way to end the partisan divide in this county is not by talking about it, but by doing something together," he said.

Hillary Clinton has worked with a number of key GOP senators to pass legislation and also swayed the votes of many longtime Republican voters in rural upstate New York to get elected.

"They know her, not the cartoon character," he said, noting she is polling strongly in his home state of Arkansas, "a certified red state," even though another former governor, Mike Huckabee, is seeking the Republican presidential nomination.

"She can win," Bill Clinton said, drawing cheers, applause and even a few shouts of "I love you Bill" from an appreciative standing-room only crowd that included many current and former Democratic office-holders.

Many stood in line outside the student union for hours before the doors to the event opened. Bill Clinton spoke for about a half-hour, then spent at least that long shaking hands, signing autographs and talking with Utahns.

"I actually got to hug him," said Marilyn Morris, a Salt Lake homemaker who uses a motorized scooter. "It was a dream. It was wonderful, a wonderful speech. I hope that she wins and she can turn the country around."

Julie Adams-Chatterley, who works for nonprofit groups in Salt Lake City, stood on a chair to take a picture of the former president with her cell phone as he was leaving. "How amazing is this," she asked of seeing him in Utah. "Did you ever think we'd be important enough?"

For U. employee Robin Perley, the chance to see a former president was worth the $50 ticket. Also valuable, she said, was the opportunity "to be in a room with 1,500 Democrats" in the GOP-dominated state.