Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., rallies the crowd during a campaign rally outside of the Mayfair diner in Philadelphia, Thursday, April 17, 2008UNDER a nearly full moon and against the neon green backdrop of the
Mayfair Diner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night spoke to the heart, soul, and thinned bank accounts of many workers in the Northeast.
Using the last of her spent voice at a rally, Clinton hailed the power of unions, pledged solidarity with the truck drivers, autoworkers, veterans and teachers, and promised that as president, she would not allow tax breaks "for any company that sends a single job out of Pennsylvania and overseas."
Much of the day was geared toward the under-30 voter, and Clinton received warm receptions from the Main Line to the Northeast. But some of the crowds contained young Democrats who had come to see the celebrity who in many cases was their runner-up choice for president.
The rally was Clinton's final appearance of the day in the region yesterday. She started with a speech and a question-and-answer session at Haverford College. She later taped an appearance on The Colbert Report at the Annenberg Center before heading to the Mayfair.
The senator spoke on issues that included experimenting with paid family leave, funding research to find a cure for breast cancer, immigration reform and literacy education.
During the question period, only one was asked by a man, Samuel Leath, a sophomore at Haverford. He wanted to know what to say when he canvasses voters on her behalf.
Said Clinton: "Oh, just knock on the door and say she is really nice . . . or you could say she is not as bad as you think."
With the Pennsylvania primary just days away, Hillary Clinton took her traveling road show to Haverford College — and added her daughter and mother to the entourage for a conversation with working families that was mainly aimed at the female voters who made up 80% of the crowd. (
http://embeds.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/04/17/hillary-woos-women-in-pennsylvania/)
Taking the microphone, Senator Clinton gave a special shout out to her mom. “I could not be here without my mother, Dorothy Rodham. And it’s so much fun because she lives with us and always has so many great ideas about what we should be doing.” That last line drew a bemused look from Mrs Rodham.
Clinton called it “absolutely a privilege and so personally satisfying to be here with my daughter and my mother,” saying “we didn’t want to have a gigantic rally, we really wanted to have a conversation.” And converse she did, mostly about kitchen table issues important to women and families such as the Family Medical Leave Act and universal health care.
But as her communications director said on a conference call, Clinton is a policy wonk at heart - and attempted to win over the crowd by appealing to how hard she’s thought about issues that matter to them. “I would hope that you could have a serious conversation about the challenges facing our country,” she said.
“A young friend of mine, actually a high school senior, his mother told me that he took my policies and Senator Obama’s policies, and he removed any identifying characteristics, and he sent them out via email to dozens if not, I don’t know, scores of his friends, and asked people which policy they agreed with. And many who weren’t supporting me, or hadn’t made up their minds, were surprised to realize that they agreed with me.”
“So I think part of the chore is to ask people, if it’s appropriate, to got to my website, hillaryclinton.com, because I’ve given a lot of thought to this.”
Inside Haverford's
Founder's Hall, Clinton played to a largely female crowd fortified by students from nearby Bryn Mawr College, an all-girls member of the "Seven Sister" schools with Wellesley College. Clinton got big cheers when she mentioned the Seven Sisters.
Clinton's mother and daughter were on stage with her in the small colonial hall with pink cherry blossoms outside filling the windows.
In one of her first jobs, Clinton said she was told that men should have pictures of their family in the office because it will show they are family men, but women should not because people will think they cannot keep their minds on their work.
"So, I immediately brought dozens of pictures in," she said to cheers from the students and other supporters, chosen by lottery to be in the hall instead of listening on the quad outside.
Hillary Clinton pointed out that her mother, Dorothy Rodham, lives with her "and always has a lot of great ideas about what we need to be doing," a point that drew chuckles from the audience of women of all ages. (
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h4nM9ZeCSgTBYYDqMHrwVKX2GHKwD903RN9O3)
Dorothy Rodham didn't speak during the event at Haverford College, but her granddaughter introduced the candidate. Chelsea Clinton revealed that she's "someone who's thinking about having my own family in the not-too-distant future, something that will make my mother and grandmother infinitely happy."
She didn't mention that she's dating Marc Mezvinsky, whose mother, Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky, was a congresswoman from Pennsylvania.
Chelsea Clinton also said she wants the "kids that I hope to have" to have quality public schools, attend college and live in a safe and secure environment. "My children don't only need to have a good grandmother but need a strong leader," she said.
With her
mother and daughter at her side, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton cast herself as a friend to families Thursday, calling for tax credits and other programs she said would make it easier to balance the twin demands of work and family.
''I think it's time, in the 21st century, that we really do more to support families doing the most important work there is -- caring for each other,'' Clinton told an enthusiastic crowd of about 300 on the campus of Haverford College.
The one-hour appearance at this 1,200-student private school on Philadelphia's Main Line was billed as a ''conversation'' on family issues. But it was Clinton who did most of the talking as she sketched out a domestic agenda that calls for, among other things, expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act to 13 million more Americans by allowing companies with at least 25 employees to participate.
She also called for the states to team up with the federal government to add paid leave to leave programs, and proposed tax credits for families caring for ill relatives and to encourage the purchase of long-term care insurance.
Clinton was interrupted by applause as she repeated a promise to, if elected, begin withdrawing American forces from Iraq within 60 days of taking office. She also won plaudits when, in response to an audience member's question, she said she wanted to create a gradual path to citizenship for those who have entered the country illegally.
You can see which way the questions are going," she firmly told a mostly female audience gathered at Haverford College, a small liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia. "What if the military commanders tell you its dangerous to withdraw? That question is backwards. The president tells the military commanders what the mission is." (
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/04/17/clinton-pledges-to-begin-withdrawal-in-her-first-60-days/)
At the Democratic debate in Philadelphia last night, Clinton was asked if she would bring the troops home "no matter what," even if that meant destabilizing the country.
Clinton said yes, promising to do so responsibly and with a strong diplomatic effort in the region.
"Our professional military are the best in the world," she said. "They give their best advice. And then they execute the policies of the president."
from the AP: (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gyXVIfZ2F2CTuuxH3_93vuTP-ywwD903SLHG0)A lot of adults probably feel the same way about politics as 4-year-old Sonya Wilkerson.
When Sonya's mom tried to get her to introduce Chelsea Clinton at a presidential campaign event Thursday, the little girl stuck out her tongue.
Sonya's mom, Kerri Wilkerson, held Sonya in her arms as she told an audience at Haverford College that both she and her husband are supporters of Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton, daughter Chelsea and mother Dorothy Rodham sat smiling in chairs behind.
"She understands what it's like to be a working mother. She understands what it's like to balance work and a family," Kerri Wilkerson said as Sonya shyly buried her face in her mother's neck away from the crowd. Wilkerson said she wanted her daughter to introduce the candidate's daughter.
"Come on, Sonya, say, 'Chelsea,'" she said, putting the microphone by her face. Sonya, dressed in a pink floral dress and clutching a doll, stuck her tongue out instead, drawing a big laugh from the candidate.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
