The banner welcoming Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton's stand-in at Brigham Young University almost looked like the one hung for President Bush's visit a few months ago.
Although not as slickly produced, a sign greeting Idaho Gov. Cecil D. Andrus read about the same as when Bush spoke on campus in July: "BYU and Utah Families Welcome Governor Andrus."The painted banner symbolized what turned out to be a low-key, anticlimactic event. Clinton has already visited Utah, after all.
The Democrats' turn never hit the fever pitch of the president's rally.
Reps. Wayne Owens and Bill Orton didn't attend. Nor did gubernatorial candidate Stuart Hanson. The only prominent Utah Democrat on hand was Peter Billings, state party chairman.
But with Andrus appearing for Clinton, the event wasn't expected to be a blowout. BYU officials even moved it from the spacious Marriott Center to the more intimate Wilkinson Center Ballroom. Several hundred students and faculty attended.
Andrus himself said he didn't visit BYU to rebut the president. He did take a few minutes, however, to criticize the Bush administration. Andrus said Bush isn't willing to run on his record because it's "sad and sorry."
"It is a record of economic decline and a record of personal despair for millions and millions of Americans," he said. "It is also a record of failure at the highest calling of our government, the job of creating economic hope and advancing the cause of security for American children and their mothers and fathers."
Although Bush and the Republicans claim to represent better family values, Andrus said, they're preventing people from earning a living.
"To work hard at a decent job in order to contribute to our society and to support our spouses and children is the highest and best family value," he said.
Andrus said the Reagan and Bush administrations have not created new jobs the past 12 years while extending the national debt to $4.5 trillion.
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Andrus says betting does little to help Idaho
Idaho Gov. Cecil Andrus told students at Brigham Young University Thursday that he opposes legalized gambling.
In response to a student's question about pari-mutuel gambling, Andrus said it does not generate the revenue for education that proponents claimed it would. The $8.2 million Idaho industry dates back to 1964.
Andrus, a Democrat, said 80 percent to 85 percent of the money goes to pay winning bettors. Most of the rest, he said, gets tied up in administrative costs, leaving very little for schools.
Duane Didericksen, the executive director of the Idaho Racing Commission, in Utah earlier this week, said the state horse racing industry is financially self-sufficient and ran a $100,000 surplus last year.
A question will appear on the November ballot in Idaho to prevent casino-style gambling from starting up on Indian reservations, Andrus said. He also opposed Idaho's lottery, although voters approved it several years ago.