Clinton fires up young voters for Jerry Brown

Listen to the full audio story

Download the MP3

If there is any sense of democratic malaise this election season, it was not present Thursday night at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Thousands of people came out to the university's Dickson Court to hear from former President Bill Clinton, who endorsed Jerry Brown for California Governor and Gavin Newsom for Lieutenant Governor.

"I asked Gavin and Jerry for permission to do this because I want to put their race in the context of the national political climate," Clinton said. "The state and the federal are important to the students here."

Clinton's endorsement of Brown came as a shock to many people. The men ran against each other during the 1992 presidential primaries and have had their share of feisty exchanges.

But last night, not a hint of the old rivalry could be detected. The two previous foes had nothing but praises for each another.

"Now let me talk about President Clinton," Brown said to a cheering crowd. "Not only was he great in office, he's great after office. He didn't retire to Palms Springs to play golf, he's out there doing stuff."

President Clinton praised Brown's ability to deliver significant results when he previously served as the governor of California, from 1975 to 1983.

Clinton and Brown covered topics ranging from green energy to tax cuts. They also took regular jabs at Brown's republican opponent, Meg Whitman.

However, the topic they kept emphasizing was education.

Clinton brought in hard statistics, saying our nation has gone from first to ninth in the world in the percentage of adults with 4-year college degrees. He blamed this drop on Republican leaders who he said cut billions of dollars from higher education funding.

Clinton used education as a springboard to mobilize young people to vote. And he especially hit home when he referenced the recent spike in the University of California tuition.

"Because you've had special burdens with your budget, you've had a crushing blow for years to education beginning with Kindergarten going up to university," he said. "I am pleading with you. You need to go out there and tell people who are not here tonight that every college student who doesn't go out and vote is committing malpractice on your own future for the student reform loan alone."

By the end of the night, the famous Clinton charisma had seemed to move countless hearts.

"Will you do it? Will you elect Jerry Brown? Will you elect Gavin Newsom?" Clinton asked the crowd, who yelled a resounding "yes."

Many people were exhausted from standing in line for the event since late afternoon, but UCLA senior Rachel François said it was worth it.

"We got here at 4:30 p.m.," Francois said. "We were here about three-and-a-half hours before it started. It was definitely worth the wait. My back is killing me and I would've waited another three-and-a-half hours. It was amazing, incredible."

Kristy Grover, another senior at UCLA, made it clear that Clinton's message had gotten through, loud and clear.

"I'm so inspired right now to go out and vote," Grover said. "Like Bill Clinton said, it's such a crucial thing, especially for students to get the vote out and get their voices heard, especially since we're such a big demographic. We're too apathetic. It's so crucial for us to have inspiring leaders who'll make sure our voices are heard."