DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — For the very briefest of moments, former U.S. President Bill Clinton almost appeared to empathize with the man his wife wants to replace as President.

Clinton, appearing before the Dayton-Miami Valley AFL-CIO, was met with a friendly crowd of more than 200 and sounds of "Hail to the Chief" being played over the loudspeakers at the Dayton Convention Center.

The song, he said, made him think about his previous time on the campaign trail, and how being on the campaign trail makes candidates connect with voters. It reminded him of a man he recently met from Virginia who had to quit his job so he was eligible for Medicaid for his three sons with devastating health problems.

The man was employed as an accountant, and couldn't afford his health care otherwise. When Bill Clinton met him, the man had exhausted his savings.

"It's easy to forget when you're president, it's easy to get isolated, no matter what party you are, because they play that song every time you come into a room," Clinton said, referring to "Hail to the Chief." "And all you are is the most fortunate hired hand on the face of the earth."

Then Clinton rattled off a list of what his wife would do that her would-be predecessor hadn't – and the would-be moment of empathy passed.

He was sharply critical of the Bush administration's economic policy, saying it benefitted the rich at the expense of the middle class. He rattled off a list of statistics aimed at demonstrating the health of the economy during his time in the White House, comparing it to the Bush White House, saying the Bush economic policy had hurt the middle class.

"This is not rocket science," he said. "Any time you're running an economy that only benefits the wealthy and well-connected, you're going to get bad results."

Clinton also sought to defend attacks that a vote for his wife would mean a renewal of fights of the 1990s.

"Which ones?" he asked, before listing off Hillary Clinton's fights for more body armor for the troops in Iraq, better health care for National Guard members returning from the war.

And then he reminded the crowds of the fights over the Contract with America that he fought as president.

"I think it's very important that none of us forget the things we stood for before that still matter today," he said.

Clinton's almost hour-long speech at the Dayton Convention Center – he was 40 minutes late – was part warm and fuzzy speech about his wife, but more wonky dissertation on subjects ranging from health care to the war in Iraq to trade policy.

He talked at length about his wife's plan to bring so-called "green collar" jobs to the nation as well as her plan to review existing trade deals and renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, an agreement that Bill Clinton signed into law as president.

The AFL-CIO has not endorsed in this campaign, though some individual unions within the AFL-CIO have. But local executive director Wes Wells made his individual endorsement plain: "Make no mistake where I stand: I stand with the most respected U.S. senator in history, John Glenn," he said. Glenn has endorsed Clinton.

Bill Clinton also talked about meeting a full-time firefighter and part-time golf caddy in New York who told him about how Hillary Clinton had supported New York firefighters exposed to toxic chemicals in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks. The firefighter and caddy told Clinton he didn't know much about politics but said he would vote for Clinton because he wanted to support "someone who knows what it's like to be me."

His wife, Bill Clinton argued, would not forget the voters she met were she elected.

"That's what you want," he said. "You want somebody who won't forget you."

Clinton is on his way to a campaign rally at Stebbins High School in Riverside.

There is a line of supporters outside of the high school awaiting Clinton's appearance.

"I'm a big fan of his when he was in office, said Chris Cowlan, 24, of Fairborn. "I like Hillary's views on things.

Asked if as a young person doesn't he more readily fit the demographic of Sen. Barack Obama's supporters? Cowlan said "no."

"It's all about what you stand for."

Stebbins is the third school in as many weeks to host a Clinton. Hillary Clinton rallied supporters at Wayne High School in Huber Heights on Saturday. Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton spoke at Sinclair Community College on Feb. 13.