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On a chilly evening in Atlanta, an estimated 3,000 people gathered on the campus of Clark Atlanta University to hear from former President Bill Clinton and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jim Martin.
"I'm pleased to have with me somebody I consider a friend, not only to me, but to this country, President Bill Clinton," Martin announced as he walked out onto the stage with the nation's 42nd chief executive. "Mr. President, you have left a great legacy. You gave us an economy that worked for the middle class, a government that put families before big business, and a nation that was building a brighter future for our children."
"That's the Georgia that we all believe in and that's the America that we believe in, and I'm glad to say, Mr. President, that America is back," Martin said to cheers.
During his brief remarks, Martin spent time talking about the economic issues that have been a mainstay of his campaign, telling the crowd that Georgia lost 96,000 jobs because of eight years of top-down, trickle-down Saxby economics.
"The middle class is suffering," Martin said. "And we're ready for change."
Martin then introduced Bill Clinton who received some of the biggest cheers of the night including quite a few shouts of "We love you Bill!" from throughout the assembled group.
"I wanted to be here tonight because I like Jim Martin a lot," Clinton said. "This country does not need a firewall to the future. It needs a bridge to the future and Jim Martin is that bridge."
Clinton told the crowd that the person who wins the December 2nd run-off would be the person whose supporters want it the most.
"You can win this thing if you want it bad enough," the former President said. "You just have to decide how bad you want it."
Clinton then spoke about the recent election results that put Barack Obama in the White House and increased the Democrats' majorities in Congress telling the crowd that the American people voted to give the Democrats a chance to change America. Clinton also spent time deriding "special interest politics" as having gone too far.
"When people in the Justice Department can fire U.S. attorneys because they're not being vigilant enough in pursuing bogus cases for political motives, special interest politics have gone too far," Clinton said.
Calling Jim Martin a great candidate, a brilliant legislator and a great administrator in state government, President Clinton urged Georgia not to put up a firewall to the future.
"Martin's a bridge. Chambliss is the firewall. This is not rocket science," Clinton said. You have to decide what you want."
"He's the kind of person we ought to send to the Senate," Clinton said of Martin. "You gave him enough votes to get him to this moment. Now it just depends on how bad you want it. It depends on how bad you want a bridge or a firewall."
"Two weeks ago, people voted for the bridge," Clinton said. "Don't let Georgia put a firewall up in front of the bridge."
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