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After first stopping in Syracuse, Clinton's speaking in Rochester at a rally to endorse the re-election campaigns of Reps. Louise Slaughter and Kathy Hochul in their respective congressional districts.
At the rally inside the Armory in Rochester Hochul said the the excitement inside the facility was like the Bills winning the Super Bowl, before talking briefly of job losses at Buffalo China and Kodak.
Clinton talked health care and taxes helping out fellow Democrats in close congressional races.
Taking the stage in Rocherster and Syracuse -- cities that were frequent stops of his wife while she was a New York senator-- , Clinton said Hillary Rodham Clinton has been staying out of campaigns. But he said she called him early Friday before his trip.
"She said, 'Bill, tell them I love them up there,'" he said to kick off a rally with about 3,000 people at the Rochester Main Street Armory.
Flanked by the two western New York congresswomen as he took the podium, Clinton grabbed a hand of each and raised them overhead to enthusiastic applause.
He said the real opponent of each woman was Republican strategist Karl Rove, whose American Crossroads super PAC last week announced a three-week, $8.1 million broadcast campaign in 11 House districts, including in New York.
He praised Slaughter for "bringing job-specific projects" to her district. Hochul, he said, has proven her willingness to work across party lines.
 Supporters inside the Main Street Armory, Rochester
Hear Hochul's Speech
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"If you want someone who can get something done, whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, you've got to elect Kathy Hochul to Congress," Clinton said.
Slaughter is being challenged by Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks in the neighboring 25th District. In Rochester, Clinton took aim at critics who've remarked about Slaughter's age, 83, and a fall in April in which she broke her leg.
"You don't vote with your leg. You vote with your brain and your heart," Clinton said. "There's never a day where there's anything wrong with her brain and heart."
Earlier Friday, Clinton headlined a rally inside a hangar at Syracuse's Hancock Airport to endorse Dan Maffei's challenge of Republican Ann Marie Buerkle for the 24th Congressional District seat in central New York. Maffei served one term in Congress before losing to Buerkle in 2010.
During both stops, the former president warned that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's economic plan amounted to trickle-down economics and said Obama's health care plan, while not perfect, had strengthened health care.
"I hope I have some credibility with you on what's good for the economy," he said ..
