Hillary Clinton Not Backing Down in North Carolina

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Mon May-05-08 01:37 PM
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Hillary Clinton Not Backing Down in North Carolina

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Hillary Clinton began her final push in the Tar Heel state in Greenville this morning, carrying veiled criticism of her Democratic opponent and telling about 500 people that she has the experience for the White House.

"You don't hire a president to make speeches," Clinton said. "You hire a president to solve problems."

She gave her usual stump speech some last-day-of-campaigning fire, her voice hoarse but her audience full of enthusiastic supporters who shouted and applauded with just about every line.

She talked of how she would offer the same health care that members of Congress receive to every citizen in the country. She talked of herself as a commander-in-chief, saying she would end the war in Iraq and take care of vetersans.

And she not-so-subtly reminded voters that she's the candidate who has spent time in the White House, talking of her work with former President Bill Clinton and of how he left office with a budget surplus.

"Those of you who are undecided, I hope I'll be able to persuade you and earn your vote," Clinton said.

�We have some differences my opponent Sen. Obama and I, and those are perfectly legitimate. You know, no two people are alike, you can�t expect two people running for president to have exactly the same positions,� Clinton told supporters. (http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/05/05/clinton-more-conciliatory-on-final-day/)

�Of course once we have a nominee we�re going to close ranks and have a unified party because the differences between us as Democrats pale in comparison to the differences we have with Sen. McCain and the Republicans,� she added.

�Let�s listen to what people are telling us. I don�t think folks in Washington listen enough. Because if we listened, we would hear this incredible cry - �Please, just pay attention to what�s going on in our lives.� You know what, I don�t think they do but I don�t think they know half the time.�

In her 30-minute speech in the gymnasium of Pitt Community College, she vowed to bring down energy costs and create jobs.

``It's not going to happen until we get the two oil men out of the White House,'' she said. She vowed to regulate energy traders, who she said are manipulating oil markets and driving up prices.

``My opponent says that's a gimmick,'' Clinton said of the gasoline-tax plan in an address to campaign volunteers. ``We need a president who can go up against the oil companies.''

She accused energy traders of manipulating markets and promised to bring a World Trade Organization complaint against oil exporters on antitrust grounds. She promoted her $10,000 tax credit for people who buy high-mileage hybrid cars, calling it part of her long-term solution to lower energy costs. She talked about meeting an Indiana pickup-truck owner who paid $63 for a half tank of gas.

``There are a lot of people who drive for a living,'' Clinton said. ``In a couple years I want you to buy a hybrid. But what's happening now undermines our standard of living.''

She again outlined the benefits of her gas-tax plan, ignoring critics who have challenged whether it will have any impact. (http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/05/05/981299.aspx)

"What I want to do is provide some immediate relief. I want the oil companies to pay the gas tax this summer out of their record profits, because they need to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem,� she said. "Sen. Obama doesn�t want to do anything."

Clinton also repeated her call for revising the tax code so that it "starts working for hard-working Americans," a point she often makes. But this time she made included to her own family's wealth in the process.

"We're gonna get rid of all the benefits that go to all the wealthiest of our fellow citizens," she told the audience of a few hundred at Pitt Community College. "You know, bless'em, they�ve been successful. My husband has been more successful than any of us could have dreamed. But we like to pay our fair share to support the federal government."

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Hillary Clinton told supporters in this furniture hub Monday that as president she would be aggressive in promoting American trade interests.

Clinton, at her second stop of the day in North Carolina before her match-up Tuesday with Barack Obama in the state�s primary, called for renegotiating trade agreements. She singled out China, accusing the country of manipulating its currency, unfairly subsidizing its domestic companies and overlooking counterfeiting.

�I will get tough on China because what they are doing is not right,� Clinton said.

Many of the thousands of N.C. furniture jobs lost in the last decade have gone to China and other Asian countries, where labor costs are also lower.

Introducing Clinton, Gov. Mike Easley talked about the same theme.

�I don�t know about the rest of the candidates, but Hillary Clinton is not ready to surrender America�s economy to China just yet,� he said.

Their comments came at a downtown train depot, where about 200 people stood on a platform above the tracks. Freight trains interrupted both Clinton and Easley, and both made light of the setting.

�This lady is strong as train smoke,� Easley said.

In a Charlotte Observer op-ed, Hillary Clinton writes to voters in North Carolina:

It has been an honor and privilege to travel across North Carolina and talk to you about the issues that matter most to you and your families. I know how hard you're working, how much you love this country, and how big you dream for your children. But I also know that you're feeling squeezed from every direction -- between the grocery bills and the doctor's bills, the credit card bills and the mortgage payments, and the outrageous cost of gas at the pump.

With two wars abroad and an economic crisis here at home, you know the stakes are high and the challenges great. But you also know the possibilities are endless if we elect a president with the strength and knowledge to tackle our challenges starting on day one. A leader who knows how to create good jobs, turn our economy around, and lift up the middle class. A commander-in-chief who is ready to end the war in Iraq, keep our families safe, and take care of our veterans and service members.

After 35 years of experience fighting for those who've been counted out, after representing America in more than 80 countries around the world and working to unite Democrats and Republicans to solve problems at home and abroad -- I am ready to be that president.

We've got our work cut out for us. And it's not enough to just deliver speeches and make promises. You have to know what it takes -- and have what it takes -- to deliver solutions. That's what my campaign is about -- and that's what my presidency will be about as well.

I'll deliver solutions to create good jobs. Jobs rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, 21st-century manufacturing jobs, jobs in new clean energy industries.

I'll deliver solutions to provide relief from high gas prices and end our dependence on foreign oil. I'm the only candidate who will provide commuters, truckers, business owners and families relief at the pump by making the big oil companies pay the gas tax instead of North Carolinians.

I'll deliver affordable, quality health care for every man, woman and child in America -- no exceptions, no excuses. I'm the only candidate that won't leave anyone out.

I'll deliver solutions for our economy. I'll end $55 billion in special breaks for the corporate special interests and give middle-class families $100 billion in tax cuts to help pay for health care and college and save for retirement. I'll get tough on China for breaking the trade rules -- and I'll only sign trade agreements that are good for our workers and our economy.

Finally, I'll end the war in Iraq and start bringing our troops home as quickly and responsibly as possible. And when our troops come home, we'll serve them with the same devotion that they served us.

Accomplishing all of this won't be easy. But I don't back down from a challenge -- and neither do the American people. It's up to all of us to keep the promise of America for the next generation, and together, that's exactly what we'll do.