By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
BROOKLYN — In far and away the most spirited campaign event of the season, Democratic superstar and former president Bill Clinton descended on Brooklyn Wednesday evening to give gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo his blessing. And to toot his own horn a bit.
Cuomo, who served in Clinton’s White House as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, recevied lavish praise from Clinton, who took the stage at a packed New York City College of Technology auditorium to rousing applause, a standing ovation and a sea of red, white and blue Cuomo-Duffy signs.
"I care a lot about this race," Clinton said, "not only because Andrew Cuomo is my friend."
He said that New York needs a strong leader to dig the state out of the recession and that Cuomo was the right man for the job.
"He has a vision to make New York the state of the future," Clinton said.
According to the latest poll, released early Wednesday, Cuomo is far outpacing Republican challenger Carl Paladino, the Tea Party-backed Buffalo developer whose campaign has been overshadowed by a series of gaffes.
Clinton provided a roundup of what he called "Mr. Paladino’s greatest hits," including suggestions that children in failing schools be enrolled in boarding schools and that people on welfare be housed in prisons and offered hygiene courses.
"What they need is training and a job," Clinton said.
But mostly, Clinton spent his time on stage touting his own accomplishments in office and contrasting his reign with the Republican administrations that came before and after him.
He painted the opposition as a party that kills jobs, grows government and increases debt and criticized Midterm candidates for spreading what he described as "a message of fear."
"The choices here are quite profound," he said.
He also urged voters to stick with the Democratic party, despite recent tough times.
"They’re right. We didn’t get you out of the hole. But it’s a very big hole and at least we stopped digging," he said. "I’m telling you, it will get better."
Cuomo, meanwhile, praised his mentor and said that he plans to continue Clinton’s legacy of using good government to make a difference in people’s lives.
"All this gray hair, that’s where I got it," he joked, referring to the years he spent in Washington with Clinton as his boss.
He vowed to turn New York around by balancing the budget, closing the deficit and creating jobs without tax hikes.
"But first we have a little detail. We still need to be elected first," he said.
The event, which was attended by Reps. Jerry Nadler and Carolyn Maloney as well as a host of state senators, assemblyman and city council members, comes as Democrats across the state are desperately fighting to hang onto their seats and threatened majorities in both the senate and the house.
While deploying Clinton to rally Democrats in a race that’s all but considered won would seem a curious move, Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez said that, in addition to the "special relationship" between Cuomo and Clinton, it is crucial that Cuomo get a decisive win to earn a strong mandate to govern the state.
Before introducing Cuomo, former mayoral contender and New York City Comptroller Bill Thompson described the stakes next Tuesday as "perhaps higher than they have ever been in our history" and urged party members to get out and vote.
"New York State is at a crossroads," he warned.
But, he said, "If we come out, we can’t be stopped."
Following the rally, Clinton hung around for nearly half an hour, shaking hands, posing for photos and basking in the limelight.
"Where’s Cuomo?” joked Cheick Dekuly, the college’s assistant basketball coach, as he looked around the room.
"Bill made this happen. It’s like he’s still president," he said.
Rebecca Lamorte, 19, a Fordham University student, Midtown resident and member of the College Democrats of New York, could barely contain her excitement after getting to meet Clinton and snap a picture with him.
"It was like meeting a Democratic idol," she gushed.
