Oct 20, 2008 6:51 pm US/Eastern
Clinton Rallies Obama Supporters In Ft. Lauderdale
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
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Sen. Clinton rallied support for Barack Obama at an event in Ft. Lauderdale on Monday.
CBS
Bringing the crowd to their feet with a smile and wave, Senator Hillary Clinton rallied support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama at an "Early Vote for Change" rally in Ft. Lauderdale.
Broward County has been considered "Clinton Country" for a long time; now, Hillary is using that to her advantage. With Congressional hopefuls Joe Garcia and Raul Martinez by her side, Hillary rallied the Democratic troops with a full-throated endorsement of Obama. She shared a big hug with former Senator Bob Graham, the elder Statesman of Florida politics, and then told rally-goers to embrace early voting.
"This has been a marathon race, and we can't take a single vote for granted," she insisted. The marathon turned into a sprint when the skies opened up, but the veteran of political storms didn't let it dampen her spirits. "This is going to be a short speech… get out and vote!"
Clinton rained criticism on the Republican Party for the nation's economic crisis. "It wasn't until the crisis hit Wall Street that George Bush paid attention. Wouldn't it be nice to have a president who knew people in Fort Lauderdale are losing their homes for a change?"
Obama, along with his wife Michelle, Senator Hillary Clinton and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson have embarked on a 3-day swing through Florida.
"Florida we are 15 days from the finish line. This has been a marathon race but we can not falter now," Clinton told the crowd. "We have to keep going and we cannot take a single vote for granted."
Obama echoed the same sentiment as he rallied support in Tampa. Clinton and Obama will meet Monday evening for a joint rally in Orlando.
On Tuesday, Obama and his wife Michelle will hold a rally at Miami's Bicentennial Park. The event, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled to get underway around 5:45 p.m. The campaign is asking people to take public transportation and bring plenty of water. No flags, sticks, or umbrellas will be allowed into the park.
Democrats have 600,000 more registered voters than Republicans in the Sunshine State.
Republicans say they aren't worried about the numbers because they are better at getting supporters to the polls. Democrats held a lead in registered voters during the last presidential election in 2004, when Florida voters chose Republican President George W. Bush. Since then, however, Democrats have added more than two and a half times the number of new voters to the rolls than Republicans.
Overall, Florida has nearly one million new voters this year. Florida is the fourth biggest electoral prize on Election Day; GOP strategists say John McCain must win it if he wants to take the Presidency.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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