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Clinton comes through

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Times Staff Writer

Jeffrey Platt wasn’t sure what he was going to hear when he took the afternoon off from his struggling architectural firm to see Bill Clinton make his first campaign stop for Barack Obama.

Since vowing at the Democrats’ national convention to do all he could to elect the Illinois senator, the former president has been a study in mixed signals and bridled enthusiasm -- like the hostage who hails his captors while blinking in code: “Not really.”

But under a blazing sun at the University of Central Florida on Wednesday, Platt, 52, said he heard what he was hoping for, a full-throated Clinton endorsement of Obama.

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“Here’s why you ought to be for Barack Obama,” Clinton said with a passion some felt had gone missing. “He’s got better answers -- better answers for the economy, for energy, for healthcare, for education. He knows what it will take to get this country back on track.”

Platt left satisfied. “He finally got aggressive,” he said after Clinton’s speech in this battleground state where the race for 27 electoral votes is tight. “He made it apparent the country is in trouble and Barack Obama is the help we need.”

It was warmer than the tepid backing Clinton has expressed in recent days while making the rounds on late night and Sunday news shows promoting his philanthropic summit. Words of praise for Republican John McCain fairly rolled off his tongue -- “a great man” who “stood up to his party.” But when it came to Obama’s attributes, “much closer to what Hillary and I want” was about as good as it got.

Such low energy, coming from one of the most gifted campaigners of modern politics, was so apparent that “Saturday Night Live” spoofed it last week with Darrell Hammond as Clinton: “Look . . . I’m not gonna trash John McCain just ‘cause he’s a Republican or a war hero or a great friend who’s hilarious and cool.”

Clinton’s recent appearance on “Late Show With David Letterman,” where he seemed to talk more about his wife’s dead candidacy than Obama’s live one, prompted a fit from the next guest, comedian Chris Rock: “Is it me, or he [Clinton] didn’t want to say the name ‘Barack Obama’? Hillary ain’t running.”

On Wednesday, though, Clinton seemed to walk a line between gutter politics and the above-the-fray wisdom expected of a former president -- a posture he forsook in the fierce primary battle, only to see his poll numbers drop.

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Not once in his 22-minute speech did Clinton mention John McCain or his vice presidential running mate, Sarah Palin, though he took a swipe at the Alaska governor whose readiness for high office has been hotly debated of late by talking heads on both sides. Clinton’s praise was effusive when he talked of the lower half of the Democratic ticket, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, whom he called “a superb choice.”

“He’s got a better vice presidential partner,” Clinton said of Obama in a line that brought cheers.

It was the first of two stops in Florida (Fort Pierce was also on the schedule), with more planned in other battleground states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania and Nevada. Clinton urged the crowds of several thousand to knock on doors for Obama. “You don’t have to say one bad word about Sen. Obama’s opponent. You just have to tell them the truth,” he said.

While critics might interpret his restraint as lack of enthusiasm, others in attendance were appreciative. “Beating the heck out of each other gets old fast,” said David Barnes, 18, a University of Central Florida freshman who remembers the Clinton years as a time when “nothing bad happened.”

In a crisp gray suit, waving happily from a silver Suburban as he departed, the former president seemed in his element, having laced his speech with the “feel your pain” empathy that served him well in two successful runs. “People are waking up with their guts in a knot. . . . Sooner or later, you won’t be able to buy a refrigerator on an installment plan.”

“He spoke directly to me,” said Karla Fountain, a 37-year-old photographer. “My husband and I are in trouble with our mortgage; my small business has taken a slump.”

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The perceived undercurrent of resistance in Clinton has infuriated some Democrats, who suspect he is undermining Obama so that his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, can try again in four years. But Clinton’s demeanor may be less an act of sabotage than a reluctance to turn history’s page.

“If Obama wins, Clinton is no longer the big dog of Democratic politics. The Clinton era ends,” said Tom Schaller, a political scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “That’s got to smart a little bit.”

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faye.fiore@latimes.com

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