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Pembroke buzzes about Bill's visit

PEMBROKE — The politics usually discussed around the lunch tables at Linda’s Restaurant were replaced Wednesday with talk of a presidential visit.

News spread quickly that former President Bill Clinton will be in town Friday campaigning on behalf of his wife, Hillary. He also is scheduled to stop in Laurinburg in Scotland County, Monroe in Union County and finally Charlotte.

All events are open to the public.

President Clinton starts the day with an 8:30 a.m. appearance at the Jones Athletic Center at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The Jones Athletic Center can accommodate about 2,600 people.

At 10:15 a.m., he is scheduled to be at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg. At 1 p.m., he will be at the Union County Agricultural Conference Center in Monroe. Details of his 3 p.m. event in Charlotte have not been released yet.

The windows at Linda’s Restaurant were adorned with “Hillary Clinton for President” signs even before her campaign announced Tuesday that her husband would be stopping in the town of 2,750 people.

News of his visit had many Hillary Clinton supporters gathered at the eatery, a political focal point in the town. A group met at the restaurant Wednesday to make final plans for an organizational campaign committee. The meeting had been scheduled before the former president’s visit was announced.

“I think we should really be proud. This doesn’t happen often,” said Linda Sheppard, the restaurant owner and one of the organizers of the Hillary for President campaign.

Charles Locklear dined on fried chicken and cabbage as he talked about former President Clinton’s visit. He said it will be a good thing for the town.

“This will kind of put us on the map like back in the ’50s when we had the Ku Klux Klan shoot out. We might be back on the front page again,’’ he said.

The former president’s visit to rural southeastern North Carolina shows that every vote counts, Locklear said.

“With the race as tight as it is, they are going to knock on every post and corner of the state because they need every vote they can get,” Locklear said.

Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois holds a 49 percent to 34 percent lead over Hillary Rodham Clinton in North Carolina, according to the latest USA Elections poll.

Nationwide, Obama leads Hillary Clinton by 52 percent to 42 percent, according to a Gallup poll. The North Carolina primary is May 6.

Locklear said he wants to hear how Hillary Clinton will support the average person.

“There are so many special interest groups that the average citizen is so far down on the list there is nothing they can look forward to,” he said.

Mayor Milton Hunt sat with fellow Town Council members and residents as they talked about the visit.

“It is a tremendous honor for the town of Pembroke,’’ Hunt said. “I don’t know who brought this about, but I certainly appreciate him giving us the consideration.”

Peter and Judith Wish helped organize the local Hillary Clinton campaign. Both said the Clintons have strong support in the area.

“Most of the people here did well under President Clinton’s years in office,” said Judith Wish, a retired professor at UNC Pembroke. “They would have been happy and would have attended if it had been Chelsea, Hillary or Bill.”

Peter Wish, a chemistry and physics professor at UNCP, said it was wise for Clinton to stop in Pembroke because of the Lumbees. The tribe has more than 55,000 enrolled members.

“I think the Lumbee Indian population would have really had their feelings hurt if they had not been included on one of these stops because they are such strong supporters of the Clintons,” he said.

A tribal member asked Hillary Clinton during her campaign visit in Fayetteville last month whether she supported federal recognition for the tribe. She said yes.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if that question comes up again,” Peter Wish said.

Many Pembroke residents say they want to hear Clinton address health care, education and the economy.

“I would like to hear his views and insight about rural counties in North Carolina,” said Robert Canida, president of the Pembroke Chamber of Commerce. “If his wife is elected, what she will do to assist poor rural counties in providing better health care, better education for our students and just overall economic development.”

Canida said the former president’s visit will put Pembroke in the spotlight.

“The statement he would make for coming to Pembroke is that an area such as Pembroke is being seen as a part of the playing field and people are going to take notice of what we are doing in southeastern North Carolina and our role in the election of the next president and next governor of North Carolina,” Canida said. “It is important to politicians to listen to us.”

At the James B. Chavis University Center at UNCP, a group of students took an afternoon break from studies. Alaina Bowden, a freshman, said she would like to see Hillary Clinton make her case before the voters.

“We need the actual person running for president to come,’’ she said. “We need to see Hillary. You can tell a lot about a person by the expression on their face. You see her on TV, but I want to see her in person and hear her speak about what she wants and not just about winning the presidency.’’

She thinks the former president’s visit may spark an interest in politics among fellow students.

DaTwon Canty, a sophomore, hopes the Clinton campaign will touch on issues facing poor counties, such as the slumping economy and affordable education.

“I don’t want to hear more promises. What I want is people to fulfill the promises that have been made,” he said. “I want to hear about ways to make college more affordable, because some of us really can’t afford it. Financial aid, that’s nice and great, but if you are coming from a family who can’t afford it, it’s not enough.”

Jan Schmidt, chairwoman of the Democratic Party in Scotland County, said Clinton’s visit will bring much needed attention to Laurinburg.

“The community has a lot of assets but also problems,” she said. “I hope he talks about the loss of manufacturing jobs and how to rebuild the economy of those who lost industry due to some of the trade agreements that were passed.”

“Hopefully, he can talk about the impact of war and war spending on the economy and how we will address the problem of huge deficits,” she added. “How we can support the troops and bring about a more peaceful world. Most importantly, how would Hillary campaign against McCain in order to make it so the Democrats will win.”

By Venita Jenkins
Staff writer for Fayetteville Observer