Presidential campaigns joust across Texas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Presidential campaigns joust across Texas | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "Presidential campaigns joust across Texas Bill Clinton and Ethel Kennedy appear in Houston as McCain stumps elsewhere in state" By LISA SANDBERG and ALAN BERNSTEIN Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Framing the Democratic presidential primary in Texas as a referendum on pocketbook issues, Barack Obama took a populist approach to his campaign Wednesday and former President Clinton spoke in kind on behalf of his wife. Republican contender John McCain, meanwhile, used a Texas appearance to look beyond his contest Tuesday against Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul. "Everywhere I go people report it being harder just to get by," Obama said at a rally in Duncanville, near Dallas. "It has never been harder to save money and never been harder to retire," he told a crowd at a high school sports arena. "Our health care system leaves 47 million people without health care. Our education system leaves millions of people behind, unable to compete." The Illinois senator promised to raise the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation. He proposed rescinding tax breaks for companies that invest overseas and giving them to companies that invest domestically. And he promised tax relief to middle-class families earning $75,000 a year or less. "We are at a defining moment in our history, Dallas. Our nation is at war, our planet is in peril, and the dream the greatest generation fought for is slowly slipping away," Obama said. With Democrat Hillary Clinton campaigning in Ohio, President Clinton spread a populist message across Houston as the widow and son of Democrat Robert F. Kennedy rallied Obama supporters here. The contest of the Clintons versus the Kennedys played out largely in front of Hispanic audiences. Thirty years after the Moody Park riot, in which Hispanics clashed with police, Clinton tried to appeal to the working class values of the audience of about 250 people at the park. He said Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York will "take the money away from the nuclear power companies and the oil companies" and invest it in environmentally friendly projects that will make Houston more efficient and create jobs. The ex-president also railed against health insurance companies, saying they "charge you an arm and a leg for premiums" and then spend huge amounts of money on bureaucracies designed to deny medical claims. "If you want to fix it, Hillary is the only choice for president" because her health care plan is designed to provide medical insurance for everyone, he said. The gathering included a mariachi band next to the gazebo where Clinton spoke. State Sen. Mario Gallegos introduced Clinton in a mix of Spanish and English. Students from Clemente Martinez Elementary School waved signs saying, "We've got your back, Hillary." On the south end of downtown, Ethel Kennedy shook hands with dozens of volunteers at an Obama campaign office and said she found him to be a caring candidate and dynamic speaker. "We are so lucky to have such an incredible candidate," she said. "He's so centered. He really cares about people who have been left in the shadows." Moments before Ethel Kennedy and son Max spoke, three labor union locals, Service Employees International Union Local 1, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 770 and the Transport Workers Union Local 556, endorsed Obama at a news conference in the parking lot. Later in the day, Clinton emphasized multiculturalism more and economic class differences less in a speech in the Asia Town area in far southwest Houston. Standing in the bed of a pickup truck, he emphasized comparisons between his wife and Obama by telling the outdoor audience of about 500, "A lot of people in this audience believe you can make change if you have experience." He was introduced by state Rep. Hubert Vo and former Houston Councilman Gordon Quan. In San Antonio, McCain said he hopes to capture the GOP nomination on Tuesday with Texas' help. He said the general election would be a straightforward contest between a conservative and a liberal candidate, with the debate being over fundamental philosophical differences, from taxes to the war in Iraq. A series of questions from his audience ended with this one: How would you balance the need for border security and individual property rights? "This meeting is adjourned," he joked. He then insisted that border security should be the first step in immigration reform. There should be agreements between landowners and the federal government, he said. Houston Chronicle reporter Dale Lezon contributed to this report. Lisa Sandberg reported from Duncanville. alan.bernstein@chron.com lsandberg@express-news.net