ATLANTA — Former President Bill Clinton is warning Democrats that anger, apathy and amnesia could be the keys to defeat in the November election.
Clinton spoke at a fundraiser Thursday evening for Democratic Senate candidate Mike Thurmond, who is seeking to unseat GOP incumbent Johnny Isakson. In his 30-minute speech, Clinton told the audience that Americans are angry with reason.
"But when you make an important decision in your life when you're angry, there's an 80 percent chance you'll make a mistake," he said.
Calling the current national mood "a crazy time," Clinton said Republicans think Democrats are disillusioned and confused, and that Americans are eager to hear a message that makes sense.
"To have an election based on anger, apathy and amnesia is nuts," he said. "That's exactly what's going on all over America today. This election should be about what are we going to do now."
Clinton also told the crowd that the Obama administration will not get credit for its work on health care, financial reform and the economy until people get back to work — and that Republicans are capitalizing on that environment.
"They're up there in Washington acting like the Democrats caused all these problems," he said. "They say, 'Let's throw them out again so we can get back in and do what we did before.'"
The Democratic Party has deployed Clinton as a rainmaker for candidates across the country, but his stop in Georgia was personal. He and Thurmond have a relationship dating back to his first term as president, when Thurmond worked on the welfare reforms championed by Clinton.
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