October 10, 2008
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON
STUMPS FOR ANNE BARTH IN WEST VIRGINIA
Hillary Tells Voters Barth is the Candidate and This is the Moment-
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Senator Hillary Clinton visited the Mountain State today to campaign with Anne Barth, the Democratic nominee for Congress in West Virginia's 2nd Congressional district.
"We've got to elect Anne Barth to Congress - to be your champion, to be a new voice, to be a leader who will side with the people of West Virginia instead of the policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney," Clinton told an overflow crowd.
The outdoor event was free and open to the public, and was blessed with a cloudless blue sky above and the shimmering gold dome of the state capitol across the river in the background.
Barth, the daughter of a retired minister and former senior aide to the venerable Sen. Robert C. Byrd, has been steadily gaining ground on a well-entrenched Republican incumbent.
The personal visit by Hillary Clinton, who remains wildly popular in West Virginia, delivered a major boost to Barth's already surging challenger campaign.
"I am so pleased to be back in West Virginia," Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the University of Charleston.
"You have stood with me and I promised I would always stand with you. That's why I'm here today. We've got to elect Anne Barth to Congress - to be your champion, to be a new voice, to be a leader who will side with the people of West Virginia instead of the failed policies of George Bush and Dick Cheney," Clinton said.
Speaking of Anne Barth, Clinton told the crowd "This is a woman that West Virginians can believe in. This is the kind of woman that America needs in Congress now more than ever."
Clinton, who won the West Virginia presidential primary handily, also said that all Democrats need to get behind Barack Obama and change the direction of the country.
During her remarks, Barth called Hillary Clinton "a role model and an inspiration to so many women in West Virginia and across America."
"Your example is one for all of us to follow, and I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting things done in Washington for the people of West Virginia.
"When I decided to get in this race, Senator Byrd advised me to view you as a role model and an example of how to be a workhorse and not a show horse," Barth told Clinton.
Senator Byrd made a brief surprise appearance at the event, and was recognized from the stage by Sen. Clinton and Anne Barth and greeted with wild applause.
Handed a wireless microphone, "I'm for Anne Barth!" was the entirety of the senior senator's remarks, echoing his line from a popular Barth campaign commercial, which drew laughter and loud applause from the audience.
