Clinton’s new message: ‘Change plus experience’

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) unveiled her new stump speech in the Granite State Sunday, promising change plus experience in an apparent effort to distinguish herself from rival Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

{mosads}Clinton kicked off her fall campaign this weekend, traveling through New Hampshire with her husband, former President Bill Clinton.

In her new, longer speech, Clinton made clear that more than Obama, she is the candidate that represents both change and experience.

“I know some people think you have to choose between change and experience,” Clinton said at a rally. “With me, you don’t have to choose.”

At an evening rally here, Clinton said toward the end of her speech that “the winds of change are blowing strong.”

The Clintons were greeted by huge crowds throughout the day. The campaign said there were about 4,500 people in attendance at an afternoon rally in Concord and about 5,000 at the evening rally here.

The former president was, not surprisingly, was a big hit everywhere they stopped in the state that dubbed him the “Comeback Kid” in 1992.

In between rallies, the former first family took in the Hopkinton state fair in Contoocook, enjoying an apple crisp, livestock, giant pumpkins and a lot of attention. The couple was joined by Gov. John Lynch (D) and his wife, Susan, as they moved around the fair with large crowds circling, asking for autographs and photographs with their children.

President Clinton especially seemed to enjoy the afternoon epitome of retail politics, lagging behind the senator as she moved with efficiency to shake as many hands as possible. The former president was heard remarking on everything from the science behind raising giant, blue ribbon-winning pumpkins to World War II battles to the move from raising sheep to cattle in Arkansas over the years.

At their first stop at the fair, at a stand that sold apple crisps, the Clintons chatted with Denise Lemieux, whose family owns the stand. Lemieux, whose father died from cancer in June, said she is still an undecided voter.

But afterward, with tears in her eyes, she said her father would have been “ecstatic” to have seen the former president, who dropped a $50 bill into a donation jar for an anti-cancer cause that was sitting on the booth’s serving bar.

On the stump, Clinton’s primary target was the Bush administration, which she accused of being “of the few, for the few and by the few.”

But the underlying theme was definitely directed towards Obama and designed to promote a sense of electibility.

Despite that, President Clinton told the crowd here that the electibility question is a canard.

“It really doesn’t amount to a hill of beans,” he said. “What you really have to is ask who would make the best president.”

Sen. Clinton’s new speech contained her four-point agenda that includes restoring America’s “leadership around the world,” rebuilding the middle class, reforming the federal government and “reclaiming the future for our children.”

The four points were at times vague, and the senator’s delivery was occasionally wandering in both Concord and Portsmouth. The new speech lasted more than 30 minutes, and in it she appeared to be trying to answer every criticism that has come at her campaign.

The campaign appeared pleased with the day’s events, however, given the crowd sizes and responses. A number of crowd members said after the speeches they were thrilled by what they had heard.

And one fairgoer in Contoocook introduced the couple to her child as the former president of the United States and the “future president.”