Bill Clinton rallies for wife

DES MOINES, Iowa – The Associated Press

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greet the crowd at the end of the Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Des Moines, Iowa October 24, 2015. REUTERS photo

Hillary Rodham Clinton turned to her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and pop singer Katy Perry to energize her campaign’s faithful on Oct. 24 before a pivotal gathering of thousands of Democrats.

One hundred days remain before Iowa’s vote that leads off the state by state race for presidential nominations, and Clinton’s event was designed to generate enthusiasm before the state Democratic party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson fundraising dinner.

The dinner caps a key stretch for Hillary Clinton, who received a boost from Vice President Joe Biden’s decision not to run for president on Oct. 21 and then put together a grinding, competent appearance Oct. 22 before a Republican-led congressional committee probing the deadly 2012 attacks on diplomatic outposts in Benghazi, Libya.

“She’s my firework,” Perry told Clinton’s supporters, wearing a white strapless gown adorned with a Clinton campaign logo and a flowing American flag cape at a free concert.

Bill Clinton told the rally that during the last few weeks Americans have “learned a lot about Hillary, what she’s for, why she’s running and what kind of president she would be.” With tongue in cheek, he complained that he was tired of women having a “stranglehold” on the position of first spouse and hoped to break that White House gender barrier.