I’m sure you’ve all seen tonight’s debate. I won’t rehash it all here but I thought you might enjoy seeing a few clips.
A question early on in this debate related to the levels of experience of each candidate. Blitzer asked Hillary to spell out the specifics of those 35 years of experience she talks about on the campaign trail.
Right off the bat, she talks about something that speaks directly to me and my own family’s experience. She spoke about the work she did with the CDF – work that helped insure that my son and millions of others with disabilities got the early intervention and the education that’s making such a HUGE difference in his young life. Take a look...
Make the jump – there’s more...
Here’s the text – check it out...
Well I would go back 35 years, Wolf, because when I first got out of law school I didn't want to go work for a law firm. I wanted to go to work for the Children's Defense Fund, and to work on behalf of abused and neglected kids, and kids with disabilities, and kids who didn't have education or health care. And I really spent a great deal of my early adulthood, you know, bringing people together to help solve the problems of those who were without a voice, and were certainly powerless.
I was honored to be appointed by Pres. Carter to the Legal Services Corporation, which I chaired. And we grew that corporation from a hundred million to 300 million. It is the primary by which people are given access to our courts when they have civil problems that need to be taken care of.
You know, I've run projects that provided aid for prisoners in prisons, I helped to reform the education system in Arkansas and expand rural healthcare. And I've had a lot of varied experiences both in the private sector as well as the public and the not-for-profit sector. And certainly during those 8 years that I was priveledged to be in the White House, I had a great deal of responsibility that was given to me to not only work on domestic issues like healthcare.
And when we weren't successful on universal healthcare, I just turned around and said, "Well, we're gonna get the Children's Health Insurance Program." And I'm so proud we do, because now 6 million children around the country every month get health care.
And I took on the drug companies to make sure that they would test drugs to see if they were safe and effective for our kids, and began to change the adoption and foster care system. Here in California, because of the Adoption and Safe Families Act, we have three times more children being adopted out of foster care.
And certainly the work that I was able to do around the world, going to more than 82 countries, negotiating with governments like Macedonia to open their border again, to let Kosovar refugees in, speaking on behalf of women's rights as human rights in Beijing, to send a message across the world that this is critical to who we are as Americans. And to go to the Senate and to begin to work across the party lines with people who honestly never thought that they would work with me.
But I believe public service is a trust. And I get up every day trying to make change in people's lives. And today we have 20,000 National Guard and Reserve members in California who have access to healthcare because I teamed up with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to get that done. Really positive change in people's lives, in real ways, that I am very proud of.
Here’s another clip of Hillary’s answer when she was asked about Romney’s BS point that neither Hillary or Obama have ever run a business before.
Well I would with all due respect say that the United States government is much more than a business. It is a Trust. It is the most complicated organization. But it is not out to make a profit. It is out to help the American People. It is about to stand up for our values, and to do what we should at home and around the world to keep faith with who we are as a country.
And with all due respect we have a president who basically ran as a CEO / MBA president and look what we got. I am not to happy about the results!
This lady not only talks the talk, she walks the walk and her experience is vast.
She wrapped up her last answer by letting us all know about her live Townhall Meeting web-cast this Monday night...
Voices Across America: A National Town Hall To Be Broadcast On Hallmark Channel
Campaign Will Also Invite One Voter To Travel To New York To Ask Hillary A Question In Person
The Clinton campaign today announced that it will broadcast Hillary’s Voices Across America: A National Town Hall live on Hallmark Channel. The town hall will be broadcast live on television and online on the eve of Super Tuesday, Monday, February 4, 2008 at 9 p.m. EST. Voters will be able to participate in this historic town hall by attending the anchor event in New York or one of the other 21 satellite simulcast events across the country, watching it live on television, and viewing a real-time stream of the event at hillaryclinton.com.
The first 60 minutes of the 90-minute town hall will be broadcast on Hallmark Channel. The campaign purchased the time on the cable network on Wednesday.
"The stakes in this election are high and this 21st century town hall is a chance for voters to make their voices heard. My campaign is about delivering solutions to the economy, the war and other challenges facing the nation. I hope that Americans throughout the country are able to join in. Our aim is to have the largest and most interactive town hall in political history," said Clinton.
The Clinton campaign also announced that one person who asks Hillary a question via the campaign Web site will get the opportunity to ask the question in-person at the town hall in New York. They will also have the chance to meet Hillary backstage after the event. Questions can be submitted by voters online at www.hillaryclinton.com/townhall.
The 22 cities where the campaign will host events are Birmingham, AL; Phoenix, AZ; Little Rock, AR; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Denver, CO; Hartford, CT; Wilmington, DE; Athens, GA; Boise, ID; Chicago, IL; Wichita, KS; Boston, MA; St. Paul, MN; Kansas City, MO; Cherry Hill, NJ; Albuquerque, NM; New York, NY; Grand Forks, ND; Tulsa, OK; Knoxville, TN; Salt Lake City, UT.
Hillary Clinton will anchor the town hall in New York, while President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and national and local surrogates will serve as hosts at events in the other states. Voters attending the events will be able to ask questions from these satellite events directly to Hillary Clinton in New York.
Hallmark Channel is a 24-hour basic cable network that provides a diverse slate of high-quality entertainment programming to a national audience of 84 million subscribers. The top tier program service is distributed through more than 5,300 cable systems and communities as well as direct-to-home satellite services across the country. Hallmark Channel consistently ranks among the top 10 ad-supported cable networks in Prime Time and Total Day household ratings and is the nation’s leading network in providing quality family programming. For more information, please visit www.hallmarkchannelpress.com.
Heh – I sure would love to know what they chatted about right after the debate tonight. They actually seemed to be getting on well there for a few minutes!
Okaaaay... this is what I’ve been waiting for folks. The reviews are in and (as usual) Hillary rocked in tonight’s debate!
Reviews Are In: Hillary 'Eminently Likeable,' 'Really Impressive,' 'Presidential'
ABC News' Jake Tapper - 'Clinton has a really steady tone tonight, solid and presidential. Eminently likeable.' [ABC News Political Radar, 1/31/08]
CNN’s Bill Schneider - 'Clinton comes across as more polished and knowledgeable.' [CNN Political Ticker, 1/31/08]
New Republic’s Michael Crowley - 'Hillary has a really impressive fluency and confidence in the details.' [New Republic's The Stump, 1/31/08]
NBC News' Domenico Montaro - Hillary 'knocked it out of the park.'"Hillary's been asked that question before and it is central to Obama's argument -- why should the country vote for a Clinton when there's been either a Bush or a Clinton on the ballot for a generation. She knocked it out of the park with a line she's used before, saying, it took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush and it might take another Clinton to clean up after this Bush. It's about as good as she could answer it and it got a standing ovation."
Washington Post's Chris Cillizza - Hillary ‘turned a tough question into a terrific moment.' "Whether or not Clinton had that line in her hip pocket for tonight, she delivered it well and turned a tough question into a terrific moment." [Washington Post’s The Fix, 1/31/08]
TPM's Josh Marshall - 'Hillary's on a tear here.' [Talking Points Memo, 1/31/08]
MyDD's Todd Beeton - 'Hillary gave a strong answer on her Iraq vote.' [MyDD, 1/31/08]
Los Angeles Times' Don Frederick - 'Clinton got the biggest response of the night' "Clinton got the biggest response of the night when she reprised a line she's used before about the prospective Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton White House tenures. It took a Clinton to clean up after the first Bush, she said -- clearly knowing it was a surefire line -- and it might take a Clinton to clean up after the second." [Los Angeles Times blog, 1/31/08]
The Hill's A.B. Stoddard - 'I think she handled herself wonderfully tonight.' [MSNBC, 1/31/08]
ABC News' Rick Klein - '[Hillary] generally excels when the talk is substantive, and she handled the focus on health care rather masterfully.' [ABC News Political Radar, 1/31/08]
For links to each of the above publications, please click here.
It seems they were as impressed as I was with her answer re the Bush Clinton Bush Clinton BS. She got a standing O when she reminded us that it takes a Clinton to clean up after a Bush. Worked the first time and maybe it’s time for another Clinton to come in and straighten things out.
U P D A T E
Hey guys - a few of us have set up a yahoo discussion group for Hillary's supporters to share info on things we write and post on the net. It's called Hillary's Voice.
PLEASE NOTE! This group is not affiliated with the campaign in any way shape or form. It's just a group of Hillary's supporters who want to share info and help support each others' efforts to tell Hillary's stories on the Net.
If you're interested in joining us go to http://groups.yahoo.com/... and send a request to join. One of us will get an invite out to you and you'll be ready to rock 'n roll.
GO HILLARY!