STEUBENVILLE, Ohio _ Former President Bill Clinton capped off a daylong bus trip through Ohio on Tuesday evening lamenting how the media and his wife's political opposition had pounced on a couple of his midday missteps.
"This has been a weird election," he told a crowd of several hundred people squeezed into the Harding Middle School gymnasium. "Heck, I'm a grandfather. I'm no good to anybody in this election, I'm too happy. You know, you need your Miranda warnings every time you open your mouth, because everything you say can be held against you."
Clinton's bus tour with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, who is running for the Senate, included stops in Athens, Marietta and Bridgeport and will conclude Wednesday with visits to Youngstown and Canton. But while the road trip through this important swing state is intended to rally the troops to turn out the vote _ early voting in Ohio begins next week _ Clinton came under fire for a couple of times he strayed from his script.
At one stop, he was trying to make a point about some of the people falling through the cracks in the Affordable Care Act when he called it "the craziest thing in the world."
Then, at Ohio University in Athens, when confronted by a heckler about the 1994 crime bill, which provided sentencing guidelines that resulted in a higher number of black offenders being jailed, he detoured into criticism of Sen. Bernie Sanders, whose supporters his wife is trying to woo.
Clinton did not do much riffing in Steubenville, ticking through Hillary Clinton's credentials and optimistic vision as he always does in campaign appearances. But he made a point of praising Obamacare _ while still maintaining that it needs to be broadened and improved _ and hailed Sanders for working with Hillary Clinton toward making college more affordable.
The crowd, which had lined up outside the school hours before the event, responded enthusiastically to the 40-minute speech. At one point, a member of the audience shouted that Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton's Republican opponent, should be locked up, but the former president would have none of it.
"No, that's the way they talk about us," he said. "Don't lock him up. Just vote."
Dozens of sign-waving Trump supporters _ and Clinton critics _ picketed the event, shouting at those lined up to enter the gym. While most of the signs were anti-abortion, a good number of them criticized Bill Clinton's performance and Hillary Clinton's promises regarding the coal industry.
"I saw those signs outside," Clinton said. "I just want to say, (Hillary Clinton) was the first and is now the only candidate to say we've got to do something about coal country. We've got to do something about these rural pockets and these inner cities that have been totally left out of this economic recovery. We've got to invest in these areas. You can't leave anybody behind here. And that's what this election is about. If we do this we're going to rise together."
Hilary Slacum, 29, her fiance, Bill, and their 7-month-old daughter, Talulah, traveled from Follansbee, W.Va., a short drive across the state line, to hear the former president. Slacum said it was good to see that there are people in this conservative slice of the country who think like her.
"It's difficult being a Democrat in these parts," she said, watching the protesters. "But this was great. Being with people who know why they're voting like I am. To be in the atmosphere, surrounded by other supporters. ... I liked the excitement and positivity. It reaffirms that I'm going in the right direction. Especially after seeing all the Trump people out here and how horrible they were. Seeing it in person makes me feel better about myself."
Louise Ball, 82, a resident of Steubenville for more than 50 years, attended with her daughter, who said she has yet to decide who to support.
"I just wanted to hear him," Ball said. "I really didn't learn anything because I read a lot and I try to keep up on what's going on. But this has been the craziest election I've seen in my lifetime. And it's probably also the most important election we've had in my lifetime."
