From The Road
March 17, 2008 11:52 AM

Clinton: Economy Is "In a Very Dangerous Period"

By
Ryan Corsaro
Topics
Hillary Clinton
(CBS)
From CBS News' Ryan Corsaro:

WASHINGTON -- Hillary Clinton warned this morning that when it comes to the state of the economy, "we are in the soup."

"I cannot stress to you enough -- we are in a very dangerous period in the economy," Clinton said following a speech in Washington this morning.

She said the recent financial troubles of Bear Stearns and the sub-prime mortgage crisis could be linked the actions to the Bush administration, claiming that their relations with oil-producing countries and the amount of money spent on the Iraq war are affecting the market.

"I personally believe if the President of the United States stood up today and said we've had it -- I may have been an oil man, but we cannot continue to rely on the oil companies and oil producing countries…I am going to work with Congress, I am going to take things off the shelf, I am going to be willing to move much more rapidly towards energy independence -- you would see the price drop."

Clinton made her statements about the financial market after she delivered what her campaign called a "major policy address" on the war in Iraq. She made her speech about the Iraq war in a black and green scarf with a print of shamrocks to honor St. Patrick's Day.

"One of the reasons why we must end the war in Iraq is that we can't afford it," said Clinton.

"We have to have a sense of collaboration and urgency about going forward," said Clinton. "In these times of stress and uncertainty, we need to be vigilant, to do everything in our power to maintain confidence in our financial system."

Clinton used her policy address on Iraq to makes contrasts with both her Democratic and Republican opponents in the race for the White House.

"Senator Obama holds up his original opposition to the war on the campaign trail," said Clinton. "But he didn't start working aggressively to end the war until he started running for president."

Turning to John McCain, Clinton said "He's willing to keep this war going for 100 years. You can count on him to do that."

McCain's communications director Jill Hazelbaker called Clinton's words "intellectually dishonest" and said McCain has described "a post-war scenario, not a hundred year war, when he suggested that the American people could support maintaining a military presence in Iraq."

Later today, Clinton attends the swearing in of David Paterson as New York's new governor. Tomorrow, she campaigns in Philadelphia.

Add a Comment
by quietwaters-2009 March 19, 2008 2:46 AM EDT
Wow! It never ceases to amaze me how clearly Hillary understands how the economy works from a national level down to the micro level. It is no wonder that our government finished the last century with a budget surplus with her husband as President. I know that my wife sure keeps our family budget straight. Perhaps it is time that we promote Hillary from first lady, and wife of the greatest steward of the American economy in history, to the next greatest steward of the US budget in history. Not even Ross Perot thought that he could do what Bill Clinton did in the ''90s to turn around the US financial straights. Now we need the kind of brilliant, creative, and resposible stewardship that Clinton has demonstrated to turn things around again. Let''s end all of the distractions of race, wars, and taxes and get back to focus on the economy which has fueled our country''s rise and fall since the beginning. It is the market not marketing that has made America strong. Vote for Hillary who understands how the market can work for you.
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by PulSamsara March 17, 2008 7:04 PM EDT
... and in other news... the sky is blue and grass - green.
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by vicjaz March 17, 2008 5:26 PM EDT
Instead of being vague, generalizing and repeating dire econonic news, why doesn''t Clinton do something NOW. Clearly, she is in a position to do so. Clearly, she is capable of doing more than one thing at the same time - a candidate and a senator. NOW is the time to propose and present legislation, NOW, so it can be debated, fine-tuned and implemented. Why wait through March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and then December and January to act. Our economy and people are in danger now. Enough of the "when elected" BS. The same applies to Obama.
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