Bill Clinton stumps for wife in Ohio

The ex-president told crowds that Hillary Clinton has ideas to help Ohio.

TOLEDO (AP) — Former President Clinton told hundreds of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s supporters Sunday that her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination will likely come down to contests next month in Ohio and Texas.

“It’s up to you,” he told about 800 people inside the gymnasium of a Toledo high school.

Clinton also said his wife is the only candidate with the ideas to help a state like Ohio, which has been hit hard by home foreclosures and the loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.

The former first lady is trying to rebound from eight consecutive losses to her rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, including several by lopsided margins, and she is looking for wins in the Ohio and Texas primaries March 4 to give her campaign a boost.

Polls show her with a comfortable lead over Obama in Ohio, and the two candidates are scheduled to debate in Cleveland on Feb. 26.

Obama scheduled a rally this afternoon at Youngstown State University.

Bill Clinton was joined on his Ohio tour by Gov. Ted Strickland, who endorsed Hillary Clinton months ago and has been mentioned as a potential vice-presidential candidate.

Strickland told “Fox News Sunday” that he has no interest in the job and said he would decline any such offer.

The former president’s speech in Toledo addressed many of Ohio’s problems. The metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Akron, Dayton and Toledo ranked among the 20 areas with the highest foreclosure rates in the nation last year, according to a study released last week by RealtyTrac Inc., a mortgage research company.

Hillary Clinton, a U.S. senator from New York, is trying to project herself as a champion of the working class.

She has proposed a plan to freeze home foreclosures for 90 days. She also wants to encourage investment in renewable energy sources, which would benefit Ohio farmers who grow crops for biofuels and create jobs statewide, her husband said.

During a later stop in Canton, Clinton spoke to a standing-room only crowd in the gymnasium of Timken High School, five blocks from the National First Ladies’ Library.

Clinton suggested to the Canton audience that voters must decide between Obama’s fresh approach and Sen. Clinton’s experience.

“So you have fresh and new against tried, tested and true,” Clinton said. “And you have to decide which is more important.”

Clinton offered a list of his wife’s policy initiatives, including health care, jobs and care for wounded veterans.

He said Obama has brought inspiration to the campaign. “I think it’s great that he has inspired people and gotten so many new people involved in the process. But you do have a clear choice here,” Clinton said.

Clinton also planned appearances Sunday in the blue-collar cities of Steubenville and Marietta.