Bill Clinton, U.s. Economy | featured news

"Here's the dilemma: we do have a long-term debt problem, but that doesn't mean that austerity now is the right response," Clinton said, adding that Republicans only support austerity measures "when Democrats are president." An affirmative plan on how to spark job creation and growth is a more powerful argument to the public than the GOP's advocacy for spending cuts and downsizing government, he contended.

Sounding at times like a college lecturer and others like a revival speaker, former President Clinton delivered a thumping endorsement Wednesday night of incumbent Barack Obama, saying his policies were slowly healing the country and would lead to dramatic improvement in a second term.

President Obama has a new television ad featuring a testimonial from Democratic predecessor Bill Clinton. In the spot -- which is running in eight swing states -- Clinton casts the Obama-Mitt Romney race as "a clear choice" between two different economic plans.