This Week in The Muhlenberg Weekly History: Presidential Campaign Visits

“This Week in The Muhlenberg Weekly History” will bring to light past events, interesting articles, and forgotten aspects

of Muhlenberg history that The Weekly has covered throughout its rich 133 year history on campus.

With Vice Presidential nominee Tim Kaine’s speech at Muhlenberg last week, now is a great time to reflect on the most recent presidential and vice presidential visits: Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

The most recent of the three was Joe Biden; who spoke at ‘Berg on Oct. 29, 2008. Biden’s rally, held in Memorial Hall, urged both students and the public to get out and vote. As The Weekly reported, “Biden visited the Lehigh Valley in a last-minute attempt to win the swing state of Pennsylvania.” Once he began his speech, Biden told students that “this is the most important election any of you in this gymnasium have ever voted in... the stakes could not be higher.” At the time of the rally, the College Democrats lamented that only one quarter of the student body was registered to vote. In listing the top two priorities of a potential Obama administration, Biden said, “One, restoring the middle class in America. And secondly, and equally important, we have to reclaim America’s respect in the world.” Although attendees were not allowed to bring their own posters, a group brought individual letters spelling “PA 4 OBAMA” they would raise whenever Biden’s speech reached an emotional highpoint. Altogether, the rally was a rousing success, with as many as 3,000 people in attendance. Biden seemed to enjoy his time here too, complimenting both our school’s and his party’s, mascot: “By the way, I love your mascot. I call it a donkey, you call it a mule. I like the look of it, you know what I mean?”

Six months prior to Biden’s rally, both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama spoke at Muhlenberg. Even though Clinton and Obama are now campaigning together for Hillary, they had different allegiances in 2008.

Bill Clinton, speaking two weeks before Obama, was on the campaign trail for his wife, Hillary Clinton. Introduced by Ed Pawlowski, the mayor of Allentown, as “one of the greatest presidents we ever had,” Clinton delivered a high energy speech. He started by saying “I’m a little out of practice. I’m only in politics to help Hillary.” After speaking on the problems caused by the Bush administration, such as “adding four trillion dollars to the national debt, and leaving numerous children behind,” Clinton said that the only way “to stop these bad things from happening” was to elect Hillary. The four main points Clinton felt America must address were “growing inequality in income, education and healthcare, insecurity and global terror, and instability of American youth.” He also explained how it was his wife who could fix it. Clinton actually commended John McCain, Republican nominee, for “his work and support of America,” and added that he “has some redeeming qualities as a Republican,” but nevertheless reiterated that his wife would be the better candidate. Echoing sentiments felt after the Tim Kaine speech, Jon Rosenau ’09, one of the College Democrats that sponsored the event, called Clinton’s speech “a historic occasion for the entire school.” Clinton’s speech marked the first time a President ever spoke at the college; both Richard Nixon and Barack Obama were not yet the president when they visited Muhlenberg.

Barack Obama, speaking “as plainly as he could” on Mar. 31, 2008, emphasized the importance of education, health insurance, and the war in Iraq. He wanted to “stop talking about the outrage and start doing something about it.” Focusing on the “common man,” Obama said that if our voices were not heard, his slogan “Change we can believe in” would not be possible. He also advocated for the American people “to stop talking about the outrage and start doing something about it.” The argument he made in favor of his health care plan is the one we have all heard hundreds of times; “no one should be without proper healthcare” and “no one will be excluded because of a pre-existing condition,” among other phrases. He also touched on his plan to improve our education system, believing that “every student should have access to a well-rounded and comprehensive education from the beginning.” He finished his speech on education saying he was “more concerned with America producing good people, than he is with good test scores.” Students seemingly loved Obama’s speech, with The Weekly reporting “the impression one was left with was that of a hardworking politician who believes in the power of good judgement while asking the right questions.”

Muhlenberg has hosted very prominent and important figures throughout its history. However, especially in recent years, Muhlenberg has seen speeches from three of the most important Democratic politicians of the last quarter century. With Tim Kaine’s appearance, one must wonder if he will be the next installment in this trend. But regardless of who wins this upcoming election, Muhlenberg has hosted a variety of political guests, with more certainly to come in the future.

All photos courtesy of Muhlenberg College Public Relations