Hillary Clinton Working Her Heart Out for Pennsylvanians

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Sun Apr-20-08 10:47 AM
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Hillary Clinton Working Her Heart Out for Pennsylvanians

Hillary Clinton implored Pennsylvanians yesterday to think about the nation's trade and debt burdens, the growth of China, and the restive Middle East when they vote in the state's pivotal primary, perhaps her last chance to stall Barack Obama's reach for the Democratic nomination.

Clinton spoke under a baking sun outside West Chester, Pa.'s 175-year-old fire house, striking a somber note about problems at home and abroad as she described the stakes for voters Tuesday.

In West Chester, Clinton talked of plans for improving the economy, expanding education funding, cracking down on China trade policy and creating jobs.

As the sound of a power lug wrench across the street at Dave's Automobile Repair Enterprises began to loudly whirr, Clinton discussed research initiatives for the nation's ailing car industry and a weaning on the dependence of foreign oil.

"This is such an important election," she said. "I don't want to just show up and give one of these whoop-de-doo speeches and just kind of get everybody whipped up, and those who are for me feel great and try to convince some of you to be for me. I want everybody thinking about what we have to do starting Tuesday."

�We have got to realize that our future really depends upon who the next president is,� she said. �This is not a throwaway election. This is one of the most important elections we�ve ever faced.�

"The wealthy and the well-connected have had a President. George Bush has been fighting for more tax breaks for the oil companies," Senator Clinton said, "So I think it's about time we had a president again who would fight for you."

"So I'm ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for you, but of course, I have to win," Clinton said. "And that really depends upon what happens on Tuesday in the Pennsylvania primary. Pennsylvanians have a tremendous opportunity to help pick the next president, and I'm asking for your support and vote."

And in a high school gym in West Lawn, Clinton cast herself as a fighter, saying �the job of a leader is to bring people together to solve problems, but to understand that sometimes we have to fight to get the political will and the votes to make that happen.�

Clinton said the country needs someone �who can withstand the incredible pressures of a political campaign, which believe me, when you get into the general election, and when you get into the White House, the stresses and pressures of the general election and the job are overwhelming. And we know that we�ve got to have a president ready on day one to take charge.�

Early in her speech Saturday afternoon, Sen. Hillary Clinton referred to the last time she was in York.

"I can close my eyes and envision the Central Market," Clinton said.

She was standing on a platform at Beaver and Market streets in York, mere yards from the Central Market. About 800 people were there to see her, gathered in a cordoned-off area ringed by metal barricades, security guards and bleachers crowded with TV cameras.

That evocation of her last visit was more than a simple attempt at shared nostalgia with the crowd. It tied in to a theme she brought up a number of times during her 30-minute talk.

It was in 1992. Her husband had just won the nomination as presidential candidate at the Democratic convention in New York City.

The Clintons, along with vice-presidential candidate Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, stopped by York to kick off a campaign bus tour.

Clinton recalled her husband's two terms as an era of peace and prosperity for the United States, ending with a budget surplus. And she pledged to bring the country back to that path, from one she presented as increasingly disastrous.

"I think there's a historical pattern here," Clinton said.

Speaking in California, Pa., Saturday evening, Sen. Hillary Clinton was rich with political metaphors comparing politics to driving. Clinton used a refrain she has before, saying our country is on the wrong course. (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2008/04/drivers-educati.html)

"If you want to go forward you put (the car) in D; if you want to go backwards you put it in R," she said, before turning to the economic prosperity her husband delivered. "My husband was a pretty good driver."

Clinton then had an analogy for the Republican frontrunner.

"Sen. McCain is a colleague and a friend of mind," she said. "I deeply respect his service to our country. But he has the wrong ideas. I believe he wouldn�t be steering the car in the right direction."

Clinton never spoke about what kind of driver she would be, nor did she mention how she thought her Democratic opponent, Sen. Barack Obama, would drive a car.

The Erie Times-News spoke with Hillary Clinton by phone Saturday on her way from Reading to York as she campaigned in eastern Pennsylvania. (excerpts) :

Sen. Clinton: "I have a lot of fondness for Erie. I remember very well that '92 bus trip (to Erie with Bill Clinton, then-vice presidential nominee Al Gore and his wife, Tipper Gore). I also feel like we have a lot in common with Erie in it being similar to many of the communities that I'm, you know, working hard for in New York right across the border. So, no, I ... wasn't thinking about him. I was just thinking about the great people I've met as I've traveled across the state.

Q Senator, you and Senator Obama are alike on many of the issues confronting Americans. So for undecided voters in Pennsylvania, are they supposed to base their vote on Senator Obama's former pastor or Bosnian sniper fire or other issues that won't shape our country's future?

A I hope that every voter in Erie and across Pennsylvania thinks about this election as a hiring decision. Who would you hire for the toughest job in the world? Who would you hire to turn the economy around and start creating jobs again, and give us quality, affordable health care, and make sure college is afford-able and get us out of Iraq and so much more? And if you look at what I've done for 35 years and the results I've produced from Arkansas to the White House to New York, I think that Pennsylvanians can be comfortable that they can count on me to be the commander-in-chief and to be the president and to fight for you and fight for your futures.

Q Senator, during the debate you said that Senator Obama could defeat Senator McCain and Senator Obama said that you could defeat Senator McCain. So for the Democratic Party, doesn't an Obama-Clinton or a Clinton-Obama ticket make sense?

"Well, I said that he could, but I think I will. Um, I believe I'm better positioned to do that and a stronger candidate. And once we get to figure out who the nominee is, we'll be able to determine what the ticket should be. But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure we win in November. We cannot afford four more years of the same failed policies in Iraq and on the economy."

"I know the problems in Erie, because I've been working hard on them as a senator from New York right across the border. As president, I will get to work immediately to solve those problems, to get the economy moving again, to attract and keep good jobs, to move toward quality, affordable health care, to get us out of Iraq the right way, to be a president and a commander-in-chief, who number one, knows where Erie, Pennsylvania is, cares about Erie, Pennsylvania, cares about the entire commonwealth, and will get up every day and go to work and work my heart out for you."