On the Campaign Trail
Bill Clinton's phone call thrills stem-cell advocateThere was a trademark voice - slightly hoarse, with a mid-South accent - on the Oppenheimers' home voice mail Wednesday.

"Shelbie, this is Bill Clinton," the voice said. "I'm thinking of you. ... I hope you're doing well."

The former president was in Bristol Borough to headline a campaign rally for Democratic congressional candidate Patrick Murphy. Knowing that Shelbie Oppenheimer was a big fan, Murphy handed his cell phone to Clinton so he could place the call.

"We've saved it forever," Jeff Oppenheimer said Friday. "We were able to call our relatives and friends and call ourselves Friends of Bill."

Shelbie Oppenheimer, 39, suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease and, as a passionate supporter of embryonic stem-cell research, has become a powerful symbol in the campaign between Murphy and Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick. Murphy made a Web ad featuring Oppenheimer, with Jeff talking about the couple's hope for the research.

Fitzpatrick opposes federal funding of the research because it involves the destruction of viable human embryos and voted to uphold President Bush's veto of a funding bill earlier this year.

It turns out that Shelbie Oppenheimer had met Clinton before, at the signing ceremony for FDA-modernization legislation in 1997. She had worked with former Rep. Jim Greenwood (R., Pa.) on the bill and got an invitation to the ceremony.

Unfortunately, she wasn't home when Clinton called, Jeff Oppenheimer said. She was out testing a computer with adaptive features to help her communicate on the Web. "Of all the days... " Jeff Oppenheimer said.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/n...tgomery_county
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Shelbie Oppenheimer
http://www.alsa.org/news/article.cfm...FTOKEN=9822869