By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: October 6, 2016 5:38 PM

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is coming to campaign in the Detroit area on Monday, almost 20 years to the day she campaigned in Michigan, but not at that time for her husband, then President Bill Clinton.

On October 14, 1996, Ms. Clinton came to a fund raiser and then a rally in the Lansing area on behalf of Debbie Stabenow. Ms. Stabenow, then a former state House and Senate member and the 1994 Democratic lieutenant governor candidate, was running for the U.S. House that year. She was challenging U.S. Rep. Dick Chrysler who had been elected to the seat in the 1994 Contract with America Republican rout.

In her brief remarks, Ms. Clinton spoke about the need to improve education, especially making sure that all schools were connected to the “information superhighway” as the “bridge to the 21st century” was built.

Ironically, 20 years later, many students – especially high school students – carry with them a device far more powerful than virtually any computer in 1996 could have been. And the smart phones they have cost a fraction of what the 1996 computers would have cost.

But she also called on voters in the 8th District to elect Ms. Stabenow, which, Ms. Clinton said, would help retake Congress from the Republicans and help ensure Mr. Clinton won re-election.

Ms. Stabenow did win that election (of course, so too did Mr. Clinton) and in 2000 she defeated former Sen. Spencer Abraham. Ms. Clinton was involved in her own election at the time, and both she and Ms. Stabenow joined the U.S. Senate together.

Ms. Stabenow is now one of Ms. Clinton’s biggest supporters. One expects she will be at the campaign event next week.