Standing as near to the divider that separated her from the stage as she possibly could, Rita Bergquist could hardly contain her excitement.

Bergquist, a West Monroe, N.Y. native, made it clear she was ready for the event by dancing to the music blaring from the speakers, from Martha & and the Vandellas’ ‘Dancing in the Street’ to the Black Eyed Peas’ ‘Let’s Get it Started.’

And after a half hour delay, it finally did.

Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport’s ExecAir hangar hosted a democratic rally Thursday at about noon, featuring local politicians and an address by former President Bill Clinton.

Before Clinton lifted the backstage curtain on his way to the stage, New York state democratic candidates, such as Dan Maffei, Bill Magnarelli and Al Putnam, gave brief speeches about their party’s excitement for the Nov. 7 election and the prospect of sweeping the republicans at the polls. Maffei is a congressional hopeful, while Magnarelli and Putnam are running as assemblymen.

The hangar’s atmosphere of hundreds of spectators grew thick with anxiousness as each politician or candidate seemed to repeat the same messages of the previous speaker as they waited for Clinton’s arrival. These messages included remarks about making New York an even bluer state and stressing that everyone must vote on Election Day.

Al Stirpe, a candidate for the 121st New York state assembly district, even joked at the stalled situation to the audience.

‘I know you’re here to see him and not see me,’ he said.

Then, a blonde woman wearing jeans and a sport coat quickly walked out from the side curtain and motioned to those on stage that Clinton had arrived.

Before calling him to the stage, Syracuse Mayor Matthew Driscoll cited Clinton’s achievements as this country’s 42nd president and said he was proud to call the Little Rock, Ark. native a New Yorker and ‘one of us.’

Clinton finally revealed himself from behind the curtain to thunderous applause from the spectators.

He began his address by stating that he likes Syracuse and is glad to be back, but noted that his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., had an influence on his decision to come here.

Because it was her birthday Thursday, he said he asked her if there was anything special he could do for her, to which she replied, ‘Go to upstate New York.’

‘I wanted to be here, and I was ordered to be here,’ he joked.

Clinton said while he was in office, his administration had a balanced budget and put the country on track to be out of debt by 2012. However, the current Bush Administration added $3 trillion to the U.S. debt, Congress raised its pay without raising minimum wage three times and huge tax cuts have gone to wealthy Americans, he said.

Another of the current administration’s problems is that it will ask for loans from other countries, such as China and even Mexico, to pay for tax cuts or to help fund the war, Clinton said.

‘We’re borrowing money from countries that have enough problems,’ he said. ‘That just doesn’t make any sense.’Clinton concluded his speech by addressing the Republicans that haven’t voted Democratic in a long time because they are uncertain of the candidates. They know something isn’t working in America, and are scared and uncertain as to how to change it.

He paralleled this scenario to one of his first times on a diving board, where Clinton said he knew he could dive off and swim, but was too scared to do so.

‘You have to go grab them by the hand and tell them you’ll jump off the board with them,’ he said. ‘You can’t give up on them. Jump off that diving board to victory.’

Following his speech, Clinton spent more than 30 minutes meeting with the rally’s spectators.

Sam Eschenbrenner, a senior political science major and former president of the Syracuse University College Democrats, dubbed Clinton’s address as ‘excellent.’

‘I loved it,’ he said. ‘It was a great reminder of why we are what we are, and what we have to work against. He kept it up.’

Ed Carlin of Brewerton, N.Y. and former SU wrestling head coach for 34 years, said it’s time for things to change in this country. He added Clinton would win a third term as president if it were possible.

As for Bergquist, she said Clinton was ‘absolutely wonderful’ and touched on the issues that needed to be addressed.

‘I’m glad my friends brought me here. I got to shake his hand, but he took my hat!’ she said, adding she would be heading home without the tan Hillary Clinton cap that she had on at the beginning of the rally.

Published on October 26, 2006 at 12:00 pm