Former President Bill Clinton campaigned for his wife Sunday night, hoping to build her support among black voters. But he was so restrained, it might be hard to call it a campaign stop.

Clinton, one of the most popular presidents ever among African-American voters, addressed the annual dinner of the New York State Association of Black and Puerto Rican Legislators. He kept it light and brief — speaking for about 11 minutes — and mentioning his wife, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, only in self-deprecation.

“I know why I’m here,” he told the crowd of several thousand. “I’m here because I’m a stand-in for Hillary.”

While his speech was short, his presence might have meant more than his words.

President Clinton remains highly popular in New York. He received a warm welcome: After state Assemblyman James Gary Pretlow, D-Mount Vernon, introduced all 44 members of the minority caucus, he said he wanted everyone to welcome “our 45th member.”

While president, Clinton was so popular with black voters that novelist Toni Morrison dubbed him “the first black president” in a 1998 essay. Many see him as helping Hillary attract black voters away from other Democratic presidential contenders, including former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who is black.

Some black New York politicians said Hillary has a “leg up” on the black community’s support.

“Obama wants to put the lock on the black vote,” said Assemblyman Keith Wright, D-Manhattan. “But she’s a known commodity.”

Asked whether the former president could help, Wright said: “Bill is the master. He has a tremendous relationship with black folks. … Obama is someone we’ve seen on CNN.”

Wright said Obama was asked to attend the event but could not.

“Bill, we consider him the first African-American president,” said Sen. Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, leader of the Senate Democrats. He said he thinks Hillary Clinton “is far ahead of (Obama) in terms of attracting minority support.”

The former president said nothing of his wife or the political jockeying. He encouraged New York officials to push hard to reform health care, improve the economy and boost the use of clean energy, and provide educational opportunities for low-income families.

Clinton took the stage with the Black and Puerto Rican caucus members and greeted many of them personally, lingering to shake hands and chat with veteran Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, D-Manhattan, and others.

“He is a big factor: capital B, capital I, capital G,” said New York’s senior senator, Charles Schumer. “No one is better at making inroads in any community than Bill Clinton.”

Last week, two prominent black South Carolina Democrats announced they would back Hillary Clinton in part because, they said, Obama could not win and that he would drag down the rest of the party.

At a campaign stop Saturday in South Carolina, Obama countered that the country could be ready to elect a black president.

Not everyone at the Albany event was convinced the former president could help his wife win minority voters. “I don’t think black people will vote for Hillary just because she’s married to Bill,” said Lenora Fulani, a former top official of the Independence Party.

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