ORONO – With her campaign needing a boost, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton received a rousing welcome when she arrived at the University of Maine on Saturday for the first of two campaign stops in Maine.

Clinton, who now holds a slight lead over Sen. Barack Obama in the national delegate race for the Democratic Party presidential nomination, reminded the crowd it was her third time on campus and how glad she was to be back among friends.

Clinton took her “Solutions for America” town hall forum to UM’s Student Recreation and Fitness Center on Saturday morning and conducted a follow-up version that afternoon at the Lewiston Armory.

Clinton was in the state to remind voters of the historic nature of this year’s presidential contest and to ask for support in Sunday’s Democratic Party caucuses. At stake during the caucus were 24 delegates to the party’s national convention, and with Clinton and Obama in a virtual tie in the delegate count, each Maine delegate is of vital importance.

“This is your chance of being part of helping Maine pick a president,” Clinton told the gathering.

She couldn’t know it at the time, but fortunes were to turn Obama’s way later that day when he would go on to win the Louisiana primary and the Nebraska and Washington state caucuses, leaving only Maine to prevent him from sweeping the weekend’s contests and giving him momentum toward the party’s nominating convention in Denver this summer.

Clinton rarely spoke of Obama by name. He did come up when she contrasted their differences on health care. Clinton told the crowd that while her plan would provide universal coverage, Obama’s would leave 15 million Americans without insurance. She said her plan would cost individuals $2,400 a year while the Illinois senator’s would cost them $4,400 annually.

“Quality, affordable health care for every American is a right, not a privilege,” she said.

Shifting the microphone from one hand to the other, Clinton walked back and forth across the stage explaining her plans and policies and telling the friendly audience that the current administration had failed to address the needs of the country.

Clinton said that under the Bush administration the country had been put “on a detour from destiny” and that she wanted to get America back on track.

She asked the crowd to consider which of the two Democrats in the race had the experience and ability to wage a winning campaign against Arizona Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican nominee.

She pointed to her years in the White House and those in the Senate as periods that provided her with access to foreign leaders and experience in foreign policy. She predicted that McCain would continue on the current track and that it was time for a change.

“The America I see is one where all of us know we are in this together,” Clinton said. “I consider John McCain a friend, but the Republicans have decided they like the last seven years, because they want more of the same. I know I can go toe to toe with John McCain. … We cannot take four more years of more of the same.”

Clinton arrived from Washington state at Bangor International Airport at 2 a.m. Saturday aboard the campaign plane the traveling press has nicknamed “Hill Force One.” After a few hours’ sleep she began a day that eventually took her from Bangor to Orono to Lewiston and then to Richmond, Va.

Despite the daily toll of the campaign, Clinton appeared energetic and eager to discuss the issues with the crowd. She spoke of the difficulties facing families in Maine and said she had made a lifelong commitment toward improving the lives of all working people.

“It is important that we have a president that knows what is going on around the kitchen tables in America,” she said.

Clinton was preceded onstage by Gov. John Baldacci and state Rep. Emily Cain of Orono. Baldacci bounded onto the stage wearing a UMaine windbreaker to introduce Clinton and reminded the gathering that he was a UM graduate. He described the race as “the most historic election of our lifetime.” He said the Bush administration had “polarized” America’s position around the world and that Clinton had the experience and ability to engage the world again.

During her talk, Clinton pledged to address the issues of health care, housing, education, unemployment, alternative energy and the high cost of student loans. She also promised to eliminate tax subsidies for oil companies and to impose windfall profit taxes on their earnings.

“We can’t do that,” she told the cheering throngs, “until we get the two oilmen out of the White House.”

After her talk she took questions from the audience and stayed around a few minutes to shake hands with well-wishers.

One of those who posed a question to Clinton was Bangor resident Brian Doore. Doore rose from the crowd with his 5-year-old twins, Gordon and Georgia, and when he described himself as a “baby boomer,” Clinton looked at him, his wife, Stacy, and their other five children and quipped, “Looks like you’re a boomlet.”

Doore said he was concerned about demographic changes that soon will pressure the Social Security system, not only in his generation but also for generations to follow. Clinton said that when her husband left office, Social Security payments under today’s rules were supposed to have lasted until 2055 without changes. Under the present administration, however, that pool will stop paying for itself by 2014.

Clinton said that once elected she would form a special commission similar to the one in 1983 that found ways to extend the program. She said she would not cut benefits to those about to retire or already retired. She said she believed ways would be found to keep Social Security solvent, and it would not require more taxes on the middle class.

“I’m not as worried about Social Security as I am about Medicare,” she said. “I know that this is a problem and I believe that it can be remedied.”

Asked after the appearance about his impression of Clinton, Doore said he came away convinced she had the qualities to lead the country.

“She handled the human quality of her subject today very well, which to me is the piece a lot of people were looking for,” Doore said. “It’s the piece that has many saying that ‘you’ve got to realize that she is the solid choice.'”

Stacy Doore agreed and added, “I’ve been waiting since 1992 for Hillary to run for president.”

wgriffin@bangordailynews.net

338-9546

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton makes a point during her town hall-style campaign rally Saturday at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center at the University of Maine.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN

Donna Murphy (left) of Corea listens to Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton during her town hall meeting Saturday at the University of Maine in Orono.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton autographs campaign posters Saturday after her speech at the University of Maine in Orono.

BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton shakes hands after her town hall-style campaign rally Saturday at the Student Recreation and Fitness Center at the University of Maine in Orono.