Clinton Urges Democrats to Unite for Obama-Biden
By: By Tom Troy, The Blade, Toledo, Ohio

Sep. 15--ELYRIA, Ohio -- Hillary Clinton yesterday made her first return trip to Ohio since the primary season, this time to campaign for the man who beat her out for the Democratic Party's nomination, Barack Obama.

The New York senator and former first lady urged wildly cheering crowds of more than 1,000 at Lorain County Community College and 1,650 at Ellet High School in Akron to support Mr. Obama in the Nov. 4 election.

"Barack and I may have started out on two separate paths, but we are on one pathway now, and with your help this journey will lead straight to the White House," Mrs. Clinton said.

"I want to rephrase slightly something I said at the Denver convention. If you look at everything that is going on in the world, and what's at stake in this election, no way, no how, no McCain, and no Palin," Mrs. Clinton said, referring to Republican nominee John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin.

Mrs. Clinton said creating and keeping good jobs are the key issues in the campaign, and said the Republican ticket promised only "more of the same."

"I've heard a lot of people talking about this election and I've heard them asking each other, 'Who are you for?' But I respectfully suggest that is the wrong question. The right ques-tion is, 'Who is for you?' " Mrs. Clinton said. "There is only one answer: 'It's Barack Obama and [running mate] Joe Biden.'"

Mrs. Clinton won the Ohio Democratic primary on March 4, temporarily boosting her hopes of wresting the momentum from Mr. Obama by showing her appeal among white and blue-collar voters in the heartland. She conceded the nomination to him in June and endorsed him in a widely watched moment at the Democratic National Convention in Denver last month.

Since the Democratic National Convention ended Aug. 28, Mrs. Clinton had campaigned only in Florida before yesterday's visit to Ohio, a battleground state.

In her speech in Elyria, Mrs. Clinton made only brief mentions of Alaska Governor Palin, whose presence on the Republican ticket has breathed new life into the McCain campaign.

Ohio's 20 electoral votes are up for grabs in the contest between Mr. McCain and Mr. Obama, and could prove to be decisive as each tries to amass the 270 electoral votes needed for victory.

The loud cheers and Obama signs in both halls signified that most agreed with her endorsement of Mr. Obama. Some were undecided.

Mary Jo Alexander of Cuyahoga Falls said she wished Mrs. Clinton were the nominee.

"We'd have world peace. She'd end this ... war. And we'd have a good economy too," Ms. Alexander said. "I don't know. I'm definitely not going to vote Republican."

Ms. Alexander's sister, Patricia Sarver, 64, of Akron, said she'll vote for Mr. Obama because Mrs. Clinton has asked her.

"Democrats are Democrats. When you support Hillary and she asks you to support him, then you have to," Ms. Sarver said.

Paul Barry, 50, of Mentor, Ohio, said he supported Mrs. Clinton in the primary but may support Mr. McCain in the general election. "I don't think she got a fair shake, not at all," he said, blaming the media and bigwigs in the Democratic Party.

"I'm undecided for McCain. It's a possibility for sure," he said, He said he was disappointed that Mr. Obama didn't make Mrs. Clinton his running mate.

A poll released last week by Quinnipiac University showed that 28 percent of former Clinton supporters in Ohio said they would vote for Mr. McCain. The same poll showed Mr. Obama with a 5-point lead over Mr. McCain in the state.

In her twin speeches yesterday, Mrs. Clinton said Mr. Obama has a plan to restore Ohio's economy, which has shed 200,000 manufacturing jobs since 2000.

"Now I know there are some people, including Senator McCain, who say there's nothing we can do about that. I reject that. If we don't do something about it, we will not recognize our country in the next 10 years," Mrs. Clinton said.

She said Mr. Obama would pursue universal health care, investments in clean energy, affordable college tuition, and ending the Iraq war.

She said Mr. McCain wants to privatize Social Security, give tax breaks to large corporations, and "still thinks it's OK that women aren't offered equal pay for equal work."

McCain spokesman Paul Lindsay said, "Barack Obama lost all but five counties in the Democratic primary because he was unable to connect with Ohioans who saw him as a typical politician with no record to get our economy moving again. These views of Obama have only been validated since, which is why more and more voters continue to enthusiastically support the McCain-Palin ticket to reform Washington and create jobs here in Ohio."

Contact Tom Troy at:tomtroy@theblade.com,or 419-724-6058.

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