Bill Clinton works Las Vegas crowd, mocking Mitt Romney

LAS VEGAS — Nearly a week after President Obama stopped his campaign’s momentum with a lackluster debate performance, former President Clinton sought Tuesday to help him recover by offering a withering new critique of Mitt Romney.

“I had a different reaction to that first debate than a lot of people did,” Clinton told nearly 2,000 supporters at a campaign rally for Obama and other Democrats. “I thought, ‘Wow, here’s old moderate Mitt. Where ya been, boy?’”

Clinton compared Romney’s performance in Denver to a sales job at the Boston private equity firm where the Republican presidential nominee made his personal fortune.

“It was like one of these Bain Capital deals, you know, where he’s the closer,” Clinton said. “So he shows up, doesn’t really know much about the deal and says, ‘Tell me what I’m supposed to say to close.’ The problem with this deal is the deal was made by severe conservative Mitt,” alluding to Romney’s description of himself in February as having been a “severely conservative” governor in Massachusetts.

A few days before the debate, Clinton added, advisors had urged Romney to recast himself as a moderate.

With a mocking tone that drew hoots of laughter, Clinton imitated Romney saying, “I don’t have that tax plan I had for the last two years. Are you going to believe me or your lyin’ eyes here?”

Clinton, who electrified Democrats in September with a rousing testimonial for Obama at the party’s national convention, did not directly criticize the president. But he told the crowd what Obama might have told Romney as the Republican sought to reposition himself with a centrist’s tone on healthcare, education and other issues.

“I could have used you in that healthcare debate when I was trying to enact a national version of the Massachusetts law, and you were all of a sudden condemning what you had been for,” Clinton said. “And I miss you.”

Clinton’s appearance for Obama in Nevada was the latest in a string of events he has held for the president’s reelection. Clinton has also campaigned in Florida and New Hampshire, and has helped Obama raise money.

Obama has held a consistent, if narrow, lead in Nevada polls for months. But Romney’s gains in national polls since the debate suggest the race for Nevada’s six electoral votes may have tightened.

Clinton’s approach was often comical at the outdoor rally at a Las Vegas nature preserve a few miles from the Strip. He ridiculed Republicans for the reaction by some to Friday’s drop in the nation’s unemployment rate to below 8%.

“I was kind of embarrassed for them, weren’t you?” Clinton asked. “Oh, they were whining and moaning, ‘It’s a grand conspiracy; oh, they cooked the numbers.’”

Ryan Erwin, a senior advisor to the Romney campaign in Nevada, recalled that the former president once described Romney’s business record as “sterling.” Erwin also said Nevada’s ailing economy remained a major hindrance to Obama.

“If you drive through any neighborhood in Nevada, south or north, you’re going to find vacant homes, or homes for sale on short sale,” he said.

Nevada’s 12.1% unemployment rate is the highest of any state. It peaked two years ago at 14%, then slid to 11.6% in June before spiking upward again.

Romney has another distinct advantage in Nevada: Widespread support among the state’s large Mormon population.

A wild card, though, will be libertarians who backed Rep. Ron Paul for the Republican nomination, said Michael Green, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada. In Nevada, some of them could opt for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, cutting into Romney’s support.

“If the race is really tight, that might matter,” Green said.

Obama is favored overwhelmingly by Nevada’s growing ranks of Latinos. And the Culinary Workers Union, a major force for Democratic campaigns in Nevada, is backing him.

Clinton’s rally at the Springs Preserve was plugged in the local media for days. Among those in the crowd was Darlene Love Smith, 49, a Las Vegas bus driver on disability.

“I’ve always loved Clinton,” she said. “He’s down to earth, and he says things like he’s out for the people — and I believe that he is.”

michael.finnegan@latimes.com