The President spoke to both major themes as well as to specific policies that Sen. Clinton would implement, reform or scrap.

The call for totally rewriting the cumbersome No Child Left Behind Act received rousing cheers from educators present, particularly, I would guess, those from Napa High School who have acutely experienced the indignities of NCLB.

As Napans debate Prop 92 and the bitter pill of Measure L, Mr. Clinton shared that students ranked in the top 25 percent academically, but bottom 25 percent economically are less likely to earn a college degree on time than a student in the bottom 25 percent of achievement but top 25 percent in family affluence; a reminder of the disparity in education that California’s community college system —warts and all — was designed to correct.

At one point an attendee interrupted to say that immigration is an important issue in Napa. Mr. Clinton took the opportunity to outline his wife’s belief in border enforcement, workplace enforcement, and an earned path to citizenship. He asserted that the insistence on calling such proposals "amnesty" is not political reality, but rather a matter of conservatives emotionally charging their base.

Responding to a veteran’s question about care for returning service members, the President spoke of vet’s groups’ support for Sen. Clinton’s efforts to get benefits parity for National Guard and reservists, and her plan to make PTSD treatment a top veterans’ care priority. This could have direct or even ancillary benefits for the state Veteran’s Home in Yountville which recently received a $5.6 million grant to treat PTSD.

As foreclosures and unemployment impact Napa residents, Mr. Clinton discussed his wife’s proposals to head off the recession that analysts now say has a 50/50 chance of materializing. One proposal would stop foreclosures by freezing adjustable rate mortgages for five years and rewriting them to fixed rates. He suggested that tax breaks strictly for middle class families and offset by repealing subsidies to companies earning record profits were a possibility as well.

Children asked about global warming and their future, globally-minded students asked about Iraq and Darfur, and campaign watchers wondered if Hillary’s team is ready to counter any swift-boating. The president shared the story of an exchange between Newt Gingrich and him in which the former speaker confessed “Hillary-Hating” is just something that Republican candidates have to do in order to win over the far right.

I’m still not sold on Sen. Clinton, but as always, President Clinton’s command of the issues from healthcare, to Iranian history, to bio-fuels is impressive and he is clearly her most impassioned supporter.

As Napa’s political muscle grows, I hope to sit in on other candidates’ stumps. With a housing market affordable to only 22 percent of households in the County, an agricultural economy impacted by climate change and immigration reform, and family members in harm’s way in Central Asia, Napans need to hear directly from the candidate’s (or their esteemed spouses) what their plans are for our valley and our nation.