Clinton event marked by heat, hot comments

ORLANDO, Fla., Oct. 2 (UPI) -- More than two dozen people were treated for heat exhaustion during a speech by former U.S. President Bill Clinton in Florida, officials said.

No one was seriously injured during the afternoon event outside of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., WKMG-TV reported.

During the speech, Clinton shot a zinger at Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin's experience, saying the Democratic standard-bearer Barack Obama made a wise choice in tapping Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate.

Because the next president will be focused more on the U.S. economy, "the role of the vice president in repairing our relations with the rest of the world will be relatively more important in the first two years of the next presidency," Clinton said.

Meanwhile, a survey by Quinnipiac University indicates Obama leads Republican candidate John McCain in three crucial states, including Florida, the Orlando television station reported.

In the Sunshine State, Obama led McCain 51 percent to 43 percent after last week's debate, the survey by the Hamden, Conn., school indicated. He also crossed the 50-percent threshold in Pennsylvania and Ohio.