Former President Bill Clinton stumped for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama in the St. Louis area Monday, speaking to a crowd of 6,000 at nearby Kirkwood High School as a part of the Obama campaign’s “Change We Need” rally series.

“The presidential election is the world’s greatest job interview,” Clinton said.

Earlier in the day, Clinton appeared at three rallies across Nevada. He and his wife Hillary Clinton, the former Democratic presidential contender and the junior senator from New York, have been travelling across the country on the stump for Obama.

Many people entered the rally expecting President Clinton to enumerate his reasons for supporting Obama.

“I expect that Clinton will give reasons for why he is supporting the Obama-Biden ticket as opposed to the McCain-Palin ticket,” rally attendee Anthony Johnson said. “Being a former president, Clinton will be able to speak from experience about why he feels one way versus another.”

Clinton highlighted many aspects of Obama’s plan for the future with emphasis on the current state of the economy. He called for the renegotiation of subprime mortgage loan agreements as well as an expansion of available jobs for Americans.

“We can get out of the woods,” Clinton said. “You need a job strategy to make new jobs to keep the middle class dream alive. If you elect him and we get through this financial crisis, we will have more jobs and more growth than you had when I was president.”

Clinton stressed that Obama sought advice from numerous political and economic leaders immediately after the financial meltdown in an attempt to entirely understand the situation.

“Senator Obama wanted to make sure he understood what happened and why,” Clinton said. “You need a president who wants to understand and can understand. The intelligence he has is what America needs now.”

Clinton also discussed the importance of a universal health care plan for the future of the United States. He argued that Obama’s health care plan will allow more choices at a lower cost, contrary to what Republican nominee John McCain’s campaign has recently asserted.

“This health care thing is eating us alive,” Clinton said. “We are not going to have a competitive economy if we keep spending 50 percent more on our health care coverage than any country on earth, and yet we do not insure many of our people.”

Clinton also criticized the Bush administration’s No Child Left Behind Act, saying that the program has greatly harmed the United States’ education system. He noted that 80 percent of American schools have had to cut back on funding for history and economics courses.

He also mentioned that Obama’s plan will reform No Child Left Behind so that it can allocate education funds more efficiently while raising test scores.

In addition to aiding public elementary schools and high schools, Obama’s plan calls for an increase in aid for American students wishing to attend college.

“Senator Obama wants to double the amount of students going to college,” Clinton said.

According to Clinton, the cost of a college education has increased by 75 percent in the past decade.

“We have reached a point where literally we need 100 percent of people to go to at least a good local community college to get a skill that will be marketable in a highly competitive economy, and money should not be any barrier,” he said. “You ought to vote for him for that reason alone.”

As a result of the massive crowd turnout, some rally attendees were forced to listen to the speech in a designated overflow area. Nevertheless, response to the speech was overwhelmingly positive.

“I was impressed by President Clinton,” freshman Arden Plumb said. “He clearly articulated why he is supporting Obama and he spoke as though he was talking directly to you.”

Many supporters believe that Clinton’s presence will strengthen Obama’s support in Missouri and in nearby regions.

“It’s great to see President Clinton finally putting his weight behind the Obama campaign,” freshman Abby Halley, an Obama campaign volunteer, said. “His name still holds a lot of sway in Appalachia and yellow-dog Democrat strongholds where Obama can certainly use some help.”

Clinton ended the speech by reminding the crowd that they should not only support Obama, but also support Democratic congressional candidates who, if elected, would help strengthen Obama’s ability to pass his agenda through Congress.

“This is a job interview, and you are the boss,” Clinton said. “You are about to make a hire. The clear choice is Barack Obama.”