AC on the Campaign Trail: Bill Clinton Speaks in Lake Charles, Louisiana

Bill Clinton made a pan-Louisiana tour that dwarfed the efforts made by his wife's contender, Barack Obama, who settled for a rally in New Orleans, hitting two of the major western cities in the state by speaking in both Lafayette and Louisiana. The author only found out about this specific meeting following an excerpt on the local news of Acadiana - with Lake Charles being a short 30 minute drive away, I rushed over there shortly after I got off from work.

Without a doubt I was excited - although I was daring to tread outside my party (something I fundamentally have to do living in this state anyway). I had never actually seen a president in person before and this was my opportunity to get in and experience the real campaign trail. Outside of state corruption scandals it is virtually impossible for an average Louisiana resident to get involved in political matters, so a figure as large as an ex-President arriving was a real treat.

The event started at 5pm - and I was unfortunately running quite late. However I managed to pull into the Civic Center at around 4:57 and Bill himself didn't start speaking until about 5:10. To my chagrin, my press credentials had not arrived yet, therefore I was unable to enter with the rest of the press, but admission was free and I was able to find a decent standing seat.

As a testament to Louisiana culture, the Civic Center was split with an RV and Boat Show. The decorum was an example in polar opposites, as men in suits and ties walked side beside those in jumpsuits and overalls coming to tour the display of sporting vehicles. Perhaps what struck me most about this however was not that an ex-President was forced to share a Civic Center with such a convention/show, he was also resigned to the third floor, and the sign (yes there was only one) directing those interested in seeing him to the third floor was a hand written note pasted onto a post.

When I arrived, most seats were already taken and a small crowd was standing around the doors where I decided to place myself. Most people were appropriately dressed, however there were a handful of teenagers that decided that "gangster street" apparel was more appropriate - including baggy, sagging pants, a glitter-plagued hat, and naturally, plenty of "bling".

The thing that struck me most about the entire thing was the absolute lack of security. There were no metal detectors, there were no visible guards, there was not even a bag check. Not the slightest type of checkpoint was set up to protect a former President of the United states - the closest thing appearing to be a number of suited secret service flanking his stage. It seemed frighteningly easy for those of ill-design to act on their plans.

When Clinton came out, he was immediately addressed with a brief standing ovation, and the thing that I noticed first about him was that he looked decidedly different in person than on camera. Not to say that he was fatter or taller or shorter or thinner, but rather that he was simply more human in general. It seemed something was amiss to stand in the typical wooden framed Louisiana building, stinking of old, urine smelling lumber, listening to a man who was once responsible for foreign policy decisions. It made him seem less noble and more down to earth, more typical.

The second thing that struck me about him was that his face was decidedly more red and his hair decidedly more pale than I'd ever actually thought.

The issues he spoke on were relatively typical. He rehashed most of Hillary's basic goals, putting heavy emphasis on her "ties" to Louisiana bills, including a pivotal revenue sharing offshore drilling bill. But in truth he spoke less about what Hillary planned to do, and instead highlighted what he believed were key issues to Louisiana, tactfully avoiding talking about how to solve them and instead pointing out that he knew what they were. It was clever politically.

The event in total lasted no longer than 50 minutes - sometimes the speech found itself interrupted by a humorous interjection by a member of the audience which usually elicited laughs. But ultimately, the entire thing proved to be a resounding success - not because of anything promised, but because it demonstrated that someone from Washington was willing to come down to a Louisiana not marred in New Orleans-esque stereotypes, and instead showed that Hillary knew about Louisiana and domestic Louisiana issues.

As a Republican, however, I remain largely unmoved.