Paraphrasing JFK, Bill Clinton introduced himself as, "the man who
accompanied Hillary Clinton to Iowa." It was his fourth appearance at
the Tom Harkin Steak Fry where, Harkin noted, a steak has never been
fried. WJC said that the gingham shirt he was wearing, very trendy
right now, was his birthday gift from Hillary. She, in turn, on her
first visit to Iowa since 2007, told the audience that Bill calls the
steak fry "the stir fry," and warned that she is on "grandma alert" in
case they happened to see the two Clintons suddenly run off stage.
For
his part, Tom Harkin, saying that after 40 years it was time to step
aside, introduced his family: daughters Amy with son-in-law and
grandchildren, and Jenny with his "granddog" Ollie who received a
little grandfatherly stroke under the chin. Retiring from the Senate
and speaking at the last of these annual events, he said he and wife
Ruth are looking forward to being back home in Iowa. People in the
audience held signs thanking him for his years of service.
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