Published: May 11, 2008 10:18 pm            

W.Va. voters savor moment

As primary puts them in spotlight

MADISON — When former President Bill Clinton bounded onto the makeshift stage in the volunteer fire department of this coalfields town, the crowd shrieked like they were about to hear an Elvis Presley concert, rather than listen to a 40-minute speech about health care and the economy.

“It’s really exciting,” Danville resident Tommy Crisp said afterward. “This is the first time I’ve ever seen him.”

In firehouses, school gyms and fairgrounds last week, the 42nd president became a familiar sight, just one of the signs that West Virginia has attained a political prominence it doesn’t normally enjoy.

When the state holds its primary on Tuesday, the country will look to see if Hillary Rodham Clinton can win here by as large a margin as her campaign is hoping, or if rival Barack Obama will be able to further solidify his hold on the Democratic nomination.

So West Virginia Democrats and unaffiliated voters — who together make up more than 800,000 registered voters — find themselves debating Iraq withdrawal plans and the benefits of universal coverage, as the campaigns blanket the state with ads and rallies.

Angela White, 34, said she and her husband talked about the differences between Clinton and Obama as they drove up from Logan to see the former first lady Thursday at the state Capitol.

“I see the big cities as going to Obama, but the working class people in the rural areas are for Hillary,” she said. “I think that’s because we’re struggling more than they are.”

White contrasted the Democrats’ stances on rising gas prices as an example. The mother of two said urban residents can often rely on mass transit and even walk to accomplish their daily routines. Their rural cohorts must drive.

White also objects to calls that Clinton quit the race before the Democrats’ national convention.

“That just disrupts our political system,” she said. “This is what the country is founded on, choice.”

She also said she would support Obama in November if it came to that.

“I like McCain as a person, but he has too many views that take the same line as George W. Bush,” White said.

Gary Johngrass of Hamlin estimates that his fellow veterans are split on the presidential race. The 57-year-old served in the Air Force in Vietnam, and counts himself among the half from that and latter conflicts who support Clinton. The other half are older veterans who support McCain.

But if Obama wins the nomination, Johngrass plans to vote for the Democrat and expects most veterans in the Clinton camp to follow suit.

“I like McCain as a senator, but I think it would be another George Bush for four or eight years,” Johngrass said.

The excitement of the national spotlight has helped bring West Virginians out to rallies, campaign events and as volunteers for Obama and Clinton. Even people who are normally aloof from politics can’t help but comment on the race, like the unknown artist who hung a sign on a bar in Sutton near a Bill Clinton rally: “Vote for Hillbillary,” it proclaimed.

“We had about 250 people here today, and we only found out about this yesterday,” said John Campbell, a former member of the House of Delegates who was greeting old friends outside Clinton’s Sutton appearance. “That’s pretty good on such short notice.”

The excitement is showing at the ballot box as well. Even before the final day of early voting Saturday, Secretary of State Betty Ireland reported that a record 49,892 West Virginians had cast ballots.

At stake are 18 of West Virginia’s delegates to the Democrats’ national convention — three men and three women in each of its three U.S. House districts. Nationally, Obama has a lead in both the delegate count and the popular vote.

West Virginia also has 10 “superdelegates” — party leaders who are guaranteed a vote in the Democratic convention. Three of those superdelegates have already endorsed Clinton, while two are backing Obama and the rest remain uncommitted.

The prospect of party leaders going a different way than the state has not sat well with some voters.

“I believe they should have waited for the election before saying who they’re supporting,” said Madison resident Albert Green. “Whoever wins the state should get the delegates.”

As the final day approaches, the campaigns are not slowing in their appeal to voters, with Hillary Clinton appearing in the state Sunday and Monday and Obama scheduled to visit Charleston on Monday.

        

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