Bill Clinton addressed a crowded Person High School gymnasium Monday to speak on behalf of his wife, New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, asking voters to consider her stance on gas prices, health care, Iraq, job creation, the environment and the economy when they went to the polls Tuesday.

The 42nd president was in Roxboro this week as part of a whirlwind tour of small towns across the Tar Heel State. Person County marked the eighth of nine North Carolina stops by Clinton on Monday, when he strode into the high school gym amid cheers and wild applause at about 8:30 p.m.

From the bleachers, people listened intently as Clinton told them why his wife could possibly be a better president than he was. Many in the audience nodded their heads in agreement with Clinton’s words about bringing back jobs and tapping into the country’s gas reserves as a means of easing the pain at the pump.

There were shouts of “yeah!” and loud applause as he told listeners that his wife would find a graceful way to get American troops out of the Middle East.

There were standing ovations when he spoke about how Hillary Clinton would balance the national budget and how “she got here because of people like you, in places like this.”

When Clinton said his wife would make sure that reservists returning from Iraq and Afghanistan got the same care as regular armed services members, a soldier in the audience stood and nodded his head in agreement. Directly acknowledging the man, Clinton, said, “Thank you for your service.”

Saying he knew that North Carolina had been hit particularly hard by the loss of manufacturing jobs, Clinton said his wife would work to bring back those jobs. The statement brought shouts of “yes!” and whistles and loud applause.

As the former president, red-faced at times, spoke without notes, children, teenagers and adults taped and photographed him. Cell phones were abundant, all with their camera lenses focused on Clinton.

Some women in the audience offered adoring looks and men nodded their heads in agreement as Clinton spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

There was laughter at times, cheers at times, and apparent agreement with most of Clinton’s half-hour or so speech.

As officers from the Roxboro Police Department, the Person County Sheriff’s Department and Secret Service agents kept close watch over the former president, he promised that his wife would ease the nation’s dependence on foreign oil while also preserving the environment.

Men stood in the bleachers — some wearing cowboy hats, some with baseball caps turned backwards, some holding “Hillary for President” signs — and applauded Clinton as he said his wife would see that every American had access to health care.

Educators and PHS students applauded loudly when Clinton said that NCLB was the wrong approach for public education and that his wife would make it easier to get and pay off student loans for college.

And, promising that Hillary would not allow the country to sink into the quagmire it experienced during and after the Vietnam War, Clinton vowed that the time had come in the war in Iraq, to “bring [the troops] home with honor.” Many in the audience stood as he finished the sentence, and the applause was deafening.

Before Bill Clinton arrived at the high school, a member of Hillary’s campaign team said the crowd in Roxboro “was the biggest turnout yet” in the state tour.

Person High Principal Margaret Bradsher said Tuesday, “It was an honor and a privilege to have someone of [Clinton’s] stature in Person County and to share it with the students at Person High School.”

She added, “I have always said, if I could give my kids one gift it would be a window to see beyond Roxboro that would give them the incentive to help Roxboro be a better place.” The principal concluded, “I think we did that last night.”

Three people, including two students, were able to meet privately with Clinton following his remarks and to have their photographs made with the former president.