Former President Bill Clinton lived up to his "comeback kid" moniker near Love Park Monday afternoon, as he made his first campaign appearance since undergoing quadruple bypass surgery two months ago.
"If this isn't good for my heart, I don't know what is," Clinton joked in response to the enthusiastic crowd, which stretched far beyond 17th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Screams of "We love you, Clinton," and "We've been waiting for you, Clinton," resounded among the crowd, which the Philadelphia Fire Department estimated at 80,000 to 100,000 people.
Many onlookers were forced to turn to large screens nearby to watch the rally in support of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.
"In eight days, John Kerry can make America the 'comeback country,'" said Clinton, who looked relatively thin but retained his trademark charisma.
He cited one of his "laws of politics," telling the audience, "If one candidate's trying to scare you, and if the other one is trying to get you to think, [and] if one candidate is appealing to your fears and the other one is appealing to your hopes, you better vote for the person who wants you to think and hope."
While Clinton reiterated his endorsement of Kerry's policies and continually made reference to the successes of the "last administration" -- his own -- Kerry focused on lambasting President George W. Bush for the disappearance of explosives from a former military facility in Iraq.
"It tells us everything that is wrong," Kerry said, citing the Bush administration's "unbelievable incompetence" in possibly letting the stockpiles fall into the hands of terrorists.
The crowd responded differently to Kerry than to Clinton, with the latter eliciting more personal emotion -- energy that the Kerry campaign is hoping to harness in order to get voters to the polls on Tuesday.
"All of the things that make a difference are on the ballot in eight days," Kerry said, adding that the election will also have an immense international impact. "The world is waiting to see what you will do."
"I want to go to that Oval Office every day, look you in the eye and say, 'I've got your back,'" he said.
Top Pennsylvania Democrats, including Gov. Ed Rendell and Mayor John Street, joined Kerry and Clinton onstage.
Although the event drew a far smaller percentage of college students than the rally held last month on Hill Field, many Penn students attended -- if only to see Clinton.
"I probably wouldn't have gone unless Clinton was there," said Wharton junior Brian Vo, a registered Republican who said he is voting for Kerry. "He's my idol."
Vo said that his "reservations over Bush overshadow most flaws Kerry has."
College junior and registered Democrat James Lin felt that Clinton was a great choice to campaign with Kerry.
"Clinton's popularity has skyrocketed, especially after the ... bypass surgery," Lin said.
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