While campaigning for his wife in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Bill Clinton avoided taking shots at her opponents, even as she falls behind in the early primary state, instead focused on Hillary Clinton’s ability to find common ground.
“We need a president that can find common ground and stand their ground. And you know if you watched that 11 hour Benghazi hearing you know she can stand her ground,” the former president said of his, the 2016 Democratic front-runner during a campaign stop in Keene.
Bill Clinton spoke extensively of the urgent need to raise the minimum wage, change the pay structure and involve more women in the work force, claiming that Hillary “has the best economic plan on any candidate in the race.”
“I believe its important in this election to vote for the candidate with the best chance of restoring shared prosperity,” Clinton said.
The campaign appearance came as polls show Bernie Sanders surging in both Iowa and New Hampshire. While Chelsea Clinton directly criticized Sanders, her father did not.
Although Keene is a relatively rural city, with a population of around 23,000, former President Clinton encouraged residents to keep an open mind about electing a Democrat.
“We know much of the rural white vote has gone Republican in recent years for various cultural reasons. They think neither side is going to help us economically and they don’t agree with us socially,” Clinton said.
He later added, “More than any other candidate in either party, [Hillary] has shown remarkable ability to find common ground.”
