Baltimore Sun-Clinton to Dems In Baltimore; "Claim Your Future"

Former President Bill Clinton at a rally in Baltimore, Md.,  for Dem. Gov. Martin O'Malley:Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun

(Story reported by Laura Vozzella for the Baltimore Sun)

Bill Clinton's old campaign anthem, "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," blared from speakers in a Baltimore park as the former president tried to rally voters Thursday for Gov. Martin O'Malley and other Democrats.

And just like the Fleetwood Mac song from the '70s, Clinton was at once forward looking and retro.

"Show up," Clinton urged a crowd of more than 1,000 in Federal Hill Park. "Claim your future. Keep your governor."

Clinton, who left office a decade ago, is something of a bridge back to the 20th century — a link to a time when he was in the White House, the country was at peace, the federal budget was balanced, the economy was humming along.

And with the nation and Clinton's party in considerably more dire straits today, Democrats across the country are asking him to take voters on a trip down memory lane.

Clinton has attended 95 campaign events for 65 candidates so far this year, according to National Public Radio's calculation Thursday. And that was before Clinton arrived — late, just like when he was in the White House — in Baltimore.

Clinton's motorcade pulled up nearly two hours late, perhaps with no less justification than when he was leader of the free world; he'd started the day campaigning in South Florida and stumped in North Carolina before landing in Baltimore.

Throngs of supporters were willing to wait. "If he ran again, I would vote for him," said Elizabeth Linski, 63, a retired church administrator who lives in Federal Hill.

(Click here to read the full story on the Baltimore News website.)