MILWAUKEE (WTAQ) - Former President Bill Clinton says Tuesday’s recall election for governor is about much more than Wisconsin and what’s best for its residents.

Clinton appeared with Democratic gubernatorial challenger Tom Barrett at a downtown Milwaukee park Friday morning.

The nation’s 42nd president said folks throughout America look to the Badger State as a battleground. And Clinton said states that are best recovering from the Great Recession have embraced “creative cooperation,” and not “constant conflict.”

He was referring to Republican Governor Scott Walker’s move to virtually eliminate collective bargaining for most public employee unions – the original reason for the recall movement against Walker.

Meanwhile, the governor was campaigning in Sussex with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, who calls herself a “union buster” and has said that her state’s low percentage of union membership has been a tool for boosting the economy.