By Jose Antonio Vargas
Washington Post

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- When it comes to surrogates, they don't get much better than this: Ted Kennedy and Bill Clinton, icons of the Democratic Party, in command performances as their fiery, charismatic, distinctively-accented selves.

You'd think they were running for president again.

In a span of four hours, just three miles apart, Sen. Kennedy and former president Clinton held court in Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, the most heavily Hispanic state in the nation. Kennedy, escorted by his wife, Vicki, barnstormed the state today, first appearing at the National Hispanic Cultural Center here, then quickly driving an hour north to Santa Fe Community College. Both were billed as "community gatherings" -- and if this morning's event was any indication, they were relatively small gatherings. About 250 people showed up at the Cultural Center, though they were so loud in applauding Kennedy's entrance ("Fired up, ready to go!" a lady yelled out) that an alarm went off.

READ MORE: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/01/31/
democratic_giants_court_nm_his.html

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