Dr. Harold Benson had seen Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan in person.
But seeing former President Clinton up close, inside the Frankfort Convention Center Tuesday morning, "was the greatest thrill of all because I was able to share the experience with my grandson," 12-year-old Lorenzo McCaskell," said Benson.
Benson said it was a good speech. "It was an experience of a lifetime. I'll give him a B plus. But there was nothing earth-shattering." Benson is director of the Land Grant Program at Kentucky State University.
While listening to how the former president's wife, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democratic candidate for president, "is going to solve all these major problems, you have to realize what you hear is not half the story," Benson said. "It depends on somebody else approving what she wants."
Bill Clinton was for changing the health care system "many years ago," Benson said. "But Congress was not ready for it. I'll be 64 years old next week and I'm not easily fooled anymore."
Benson said he hasn't decided whom he will vote for in the May 20 Democratic presidential primary. "I'm not going to commit at this point," he said. "It will be one of the two" " Clinton or Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
Joy Jeffries, executive director of the Frankfort Tourist Commission, said she was supporting Hillary Clinton for president before her husband arrived in Frankfort.
"I think we had wonderful, wonderful years in this country when Bill Clinton was president," Jeffries said. "And I think Hillary is fantastic " a very, very smart and capable woman. I hope she is our next president."
Franklin County Magistrate Phillip Kring said he's going to support Hillary Clinton. "I think she's the best man for the job," he said, laughing. "I think she has the experience and she has a fantastic adviser in her husband."
Kring said he brought his mother, Corine Carpenter, to the Clinton rally "because she thinks Bill Clinton hung the moon."
Betty Taylor, a Frankfort resident since 1977, said Clinton gave a great speech.
"I liked what he said regarding the economy, healthcare and getting the troops out of Iraq," she said. "Bill Clinton and John Kennedy were my favorite presidents, and I think Hillary will compare with Bill and may be even better."
Frankfort's Larry Arnett, a retired state employee and colonel with the Kentucky National Guard, said it was his first time to see a president in person.
"I couldn't pass up the opportunity to come down to see him," Arnett said. "I think President Clinton did a great job of expressing why we should support Hillary Clinton for president, and I think Kentuckians are going to listen. I think we are going to have a good turnout for her in Franklin County and I think Kentucky is going to turn out well for Hillary.
"When you compare the Democratic candidates, experience is the telling issue. I just think Hillary has the position and the trials by fire that it's going to take to be president."
Lizz Taylor, owner of Poor Richard's Books in downtown Frankfort, also supports Hillary Clinton because of her experience in the White House and as a U.S. senator.
"It's an incredibly complicated mess that we are in right now and on-the-job training is not going to get us out of the mess," Taylor said. With Hillary and Bill Clinton, "we would have an experienced team in the White House. He did such a great job with the economy because he researched it so well before he got in office. And I think she would do the same."
The bookstore on Broadway had a big window display of Bill and Hillary Clinton books, but business was slow Tuesday morning.
"Everybody was at the convention center, including me," Taylor said. "I called my daughter (Julia) on the cell phone and let her listen while he was speaking."
Julia Taylor, a Hanover College student, is an intern in Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh's office in Washington, D.C.
Lizz Taylor said she appreciated the former president taking the time after his speech to shake hands with a lot of people and sign books and other Clinton memorabilia before leaving the convention center. But she forgot to take a book with her.
Frankfort's Krishna Mohan and his wife, Namrata Ramakrishna, saw two former presidents in less than 24 hours. They are natives of India and received their U.S. citizenship last July.
Monday evening they were in Lexington attending a sold-out dinner for A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, a former president of India who was spending three days at the University of Kentucky as part of a visit to the United States. The 77-year-old scientist, aeronautical engineer, educator, poet and songwriter was president from 2002 to 2007.
Then on the spur of the moment Tuesday, Mohan and Ramakrishna decided to go see Clinton.
"It was very exciting," seeing Clinton in Frankfort, Mohan said. "Bill Clinton is a political leader I admire. The way he speaks is really attractive."
They haven't decided whom they will vote for. They like Clinton, Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain, a Republican.
"It's really hard to decide," he said.
Ramakrishna said at first she didn't want to go to Tuesday's political rally, but she's glad she did.
"How often can we see a president in Frankfort?" she said. "Bill Clinton is a really good orator and it was nice to get to listen to him."
Louisville attorney Joy Miller doesn't like getting political messages on her answering machine at home. But Monday night, right after she quickly deleted one, she realized she had been invited to see her first president. Her husband wasn't interested in going with her to Frankfort, so she called her sister-in-law, Dawn Colvin, who was happy to go with her.
The trip was better than they ever imagined. They were surprised that all of the seats in the arena were good ones. And they were shocked that they got to shake Clinton's hand and get close-up pictures of him.
Colvin said she was sold on Hillary before coming to Frankfort. Miller still hasn't decided between Clinton and Obama, "but Bill did sway me a little bit today. I'm hoping Hillary and Obama will both come to Kentucky (before the primary)."