By David Harry

Staff Writer

Robert Shaw apologized for the wear and tear on his party garb Sunday night, but there was no mistaking his support for Maine Democrats and former President Bill Clinton as he waited for a rally at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland.

A stuffed donkey perched on the Auburn man’s straw boater cap, while a campaign button for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden blinked red in the darkening light.

Danville resident Robert Shaw was visible in his support for Maine Democrats and former President Bill Clinton as he waited Sunday night for a rally to begin at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. 

Clothed in party garb capped with a stuffed donkey perched on a straw boater cap, Auburn Resident Shaw apologized for the wear and tear on the party mascot. Beneath the donkey, a campaign button supporting President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden blinked red in the darkening light.

Shaw and about 1,500 other party faithful made the trip to a rally featuring Gov. John Baldacci, U.S. Reps. Mike Michaud and Chellie Pingree and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell, but saved the loudest cheers in the Hutchinson Union Building for Clinton as he spoke for more than 30 minutes.

Speakers said better economic times are on the way with the recession now over, but Arundel resident Bob Sullivan said he was not buying the message as he stood on Broadway, two blocks from the rally site.

Sullivan, holding a sign and cup of coffee, said he came to South Portland because he believed Pingree would not come to him.

“I’m here because my congresswoman does not do town meetings,” said Sullivan. A yellow flag emblazoned with a coiled snake flapped in a misty breeze above Sullivan’s sign – the emblem for the movement of the Tea Party looking to play a factor in fall elections.

Protesting what he called “one-party rule in Augusta and Washington, D.C.,” Sullivan was hoping for faster improvement in the economy. The electrical engineer, one of about three protestors outside the rally, said he’s had to find jobs outside Maine.

In his speech Clinton warned against voting in anger while acknowledging the economy is far from fully recovered. 

As he talked about the need to change spending policies and put people back to work, Sullivan smiled affably and sipped from his paper cup.

About two blocks away, Parsonsfield resident Jack Oser stood by the front door to the Hutchinson, where he volunteered with the Maine Democratic Party to greet people attending the rally.

Oser, a retired school principal who lived on Cape Cod before moving to Maine, said he met President John F. Kennedy almost 50 years ago as well as President Barack Obama and hoped to shake Clinton’s hand.

His message was heard and noted by Clinton, who spoke for more than 30 minutes. Oser, too, was well aware of Sullivan’s frustrations about the economy even before the rally began.

“We need two more years to show we can do it,” Oser commented on reversing the economy. “If we don’t get it done in two more years, throw us out.” 

Susan McAlpine, who traveled from Somersworth, N.H., staked a spot close to the stage and said she was surprised she got one of 1,500 free tickets distributed by the Maine Democratic Party.

She said she was a longtime supporter of Clinton and his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and grew up in the legislative district served by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Elizabeth “Libby” Mitchell.

“Bill is the reason I am here. I haven’t met him yet and I want to,” she said. McAlpine’s daughter Addie, 8, passed on a chance to come to the rally, her mother said.

“She said she didn’t want to go just to meet Hillary’s husband,” McAlpine explained.

A visual counterpoint to Sullivan’s sign and flag came from Shaw. As he waited outside the student center, Shaw pointed to campaign buttons dating to the 1952 and 1956 campaigns won handily by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Shaw said he already got Clinton’s autograph when the former president visited Lewiston about 15 years ago, and said his message still resonates.

“He knew government is about serving people and always championed issues for the working class and elderly,” Shaw said as the line began to move and the red light on his campaign button blinked in the night.