Fiery Clinton Fields Tough Questions at Campaign Rally

(CBS)
EUGENE, ORE. -- During a campaign stop in Oregon, Hillary Clinton fielded testier questions from the audience, more so than she has in quite a while. It was a typical campaign rally where Clinton delivered her now typical campaign speech, but twice during her remarks Clinton was heckled by a gentleman who wanted to know why Clinton voted for No Child Left Behind and the war in Iraq. Clinton remained unfazed by the man’s outbursts. But it wasn’t until the question and answer period where Clinton drew her greatest challenge.
Clinton called on a young man who when asking his question said he was a supporter of Barack Obama, and he wanted to know if Clinton or her supporters had done or said anything that would weaken Obama’s chances at winning the general election were he the nominee. Clinton said, “I think this has been by and large one of the most positive and civil campaigns I have ever been a part of.”
But her calm tone and relaxed demeanor soon became sharp and fiery. “Elections are about choices. You are supposed to present your case and you’re supposed to critique the other case. That’s what you do in an election, it is not a coronation, it is a contest, this country is worth fighting for, and I’m going to fight for it!”
Clinton went on to say that elections can be heated and a president has to be able to handle criticism. “I don’t take any of it personally,” she said. “I don’t take any of it seriously. If you can’t stand the heat don’t run for president because it’s a really hot kitchen in the White House.”
Clinton, who continued making her case to the Obama supporter drew loud cheers from the crowd when she told the man: “I wish we could believe that we could get to universal health care, that we could turn the economy around, that we could end the home foreclosure crisis merely bay asking people to do it, by bringing them together, by pointing to a higher cause and expecting them to shelve their personal, ideological, personal and partisan advantages, that is not the way the world has ever worked.”
Growing more frustrated Clinton said, “I wouldn’t be standing here. I wouldn’t be getting up at 5 a.m. and going to bed at 2 a.m. if I didn’t believe I would be the better candidate to beat John McCain.”
Clinton was later asked about her now infamous 3 a.m. phone call ad and what exactly makes her ready to answer that call when she has, as part of her record, a vote for the war in Iraq. Clinton defended her vote on the war saying voters should compare both her and Obama's records.
“I made a considered judgment, I didn’t make a speech, I made a decision and it was a decision based on my best assessment on what would be in the interest of our country at that very uncertain time.”
Clinton said that historians will judge if her decision was the right one, but she reminded voters that Obama’s voting record on the war is not very different than hers.
“When you want to compare, compare decisions so when Senator Obama came to the Senate, he and I voted exactly the same except for one vote and that happens to be the facts.”
Obama has been credited with foreseeing a troublesome war in Iraq primarily due to a speech he gave in 2002 while he was a state senator, where he spoke out against the war. Clinton said, “I started criticizing the war in Iraq before he did. So, I’m well aware that his entire campaign is premised on a speech he gave in 2002 and I give him credit for making that speech. But that was not a decision.”
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See all 177 CommentsPlease make your vote count and let''s change America for the better!...
I hope she gets slapped so hard she permanently disappears from America. What a filthy self centered beast.
"But her calm tone and relaxed demeanor soon became sharp and fiery."
and then, a paragraph later:
"Clinton went on to say that elections can be heated and a president has to be able to handle criticism."
Look. Either you are fiery and sharp, or you can handle criticism. Not btoh. But then most of her arguments don''t folow through to the end. Either Hillary''s adminstration is part two of Bill''s since she was a big part of it, or she has no experience in the White House. Either disenfranchising voters is bad, bad, bad, or the super-delegates should overturn the popular and pledged delegate counts (should I mention in light of disenfranchisement arguments what her courting of Obama''s pledged delegates means?). Either she is a Democrat, or she should say that the Republican nominee is more qualified than the Democrat winning the primaries. Either she regrets her vote for the war, or she supported the war.
Wo. I guess with her we''ll get the best ideas. Unless we start believing them... Forty years of change indeed.
I am not planning to vote for Sen. Clinton but I took note that her appearance in Eugene was excellent. She did not get toxic toward Obama. There were no outbursts. Your reporter is distorting. There''s video available at websites of local stations KEZI and sorry I don''t know the other one.
What a rotten legacy from two of the most corrupt politicians America saw in the 20th and 21st centuries.
I love you Clintonistas. You never let logic get in the way of your obsession.
If all Obama''s experience before the Senate was as a community organizer, then how did he vote "present" 130 times? What did he do, go down to the street corner and scream "present" at the top of his lungs?
In fact, Mr. Obama has more years (and more than 4000 votes) as an elected official than Hillary does.
Sorry to burst your bubble, but reality should play at least SOME part in this debate.
Against Obama, she is the better man!!
Agree or disagree with her on issues but she Votes!!!
ANOTHER SHOOT-OUT AT CLINTON CREDIBILITY GAP ...
Clinton Under Fire Over False Story Of Health Care Horror
New York Times
April 5, 2008
Over the last five weeks, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York has featured in her campaign stump speeches the story of a health care horror: an uninsured pregnant woman who lost her baby and died herself after being denied care by an Ohio hospital because she could not come up with a $100 fee.
The woman, Trina Bachtel, did die last August, two weeks after her baby boy was stillborn at O''Bleness Memorial Hospital in Athens, Ohio. But hospital administrators said Friday that Ms. Bachtel was under the care of an obstetrics practice affiliated with the hospital, that she was never refused treatment and that she was, in fact, insured.[...]
see for yourself; visit my blog and read about how EMIL JONES gave obama a FREE ride; and this clown didn''t even think twice about taking others ideas...
Informed or uninformed...she votes. Look at her vote on Iraq. and her excuse? I was misinformed. I guess she felt no need to do a more thorough review of the information and consequently voted for a bill that has returned thousands of our own in body bags.
Http://www.shieldsnet.org/images/strange/rubens_bill_and_monica.jpg
Http://www.shieldsnet.org/images/strange/rubens_bill_and_monica.jpg
Why did Clinton''s campaign head Mark Penn meet with the Columbian Govt on the free trade issue as a lobbyist for his firm under a contract for 300,000 to help them get free trade agreement passed when Hillary is suppose to be against it. It is interesting a few days ago the Columbian president called out Obama as opposing the agreement and not understanding Columbian issues. I thought it was strange he did not mention Hillary but then the story broke about Mark Penn and his association with the Columbian Govt. This is a sad day. I am not going to vote in November. Regardless you can''t tell me she had no idea he was working on this?? How is this possible. He is your campaign head. I have lost interest in the campaign as its all lies.
Think before you accuse!
The hospital probably did refuse that woman treatment until they got her approved under medicaid!
The Obama campaign has a way of twisting stories.
Hillary had absolutely no reason to lie about a story that was told to her!
Get a grip!
Obama unites nothing! He has done nothing but create chaos in this campaign by distortion and lies!
And he has totally lied about himself, his legislative abilities, and has had to drop so many corrupt friends it''s pathetic!
You can''t believe what this man tells you in purty speeches! And he NEVER gives an interview open to questions. He will only interview where they will agree to ask only certain questions.
Obama is dirty!
"If it''s legal, it''s permissible."
(As regards soliciting pledged delegates, the chief strategist''s conflicts of interest, etc.)
and
"If you can''t take the heat, get out of the kitchen."
These are just not two principles I want my next president to embody. And actually, come to think of it, they''re sort of the two principles that our current president has embodied for the last eight years.
I consider myself very educated but I see she has lied about Mark Penn involvment in free trade with Columbia, lied about Bonsia, lied about Kosovo, lied about the women who died with a disease who didn''t have health insurance, lied about what she told Bill Richardson, lied about her involvement in Canadian discussions on Nafta. All lies not to mention those of the past. I am sick of it all. I have been a strong support of the Clintons during Bill''s times in office. I said yes its the right wing conspiracy right Bill? Now I see differently particulary over recent events.
And that''s what he does for Hillary!
Just like Axelrod, the a/s/s! He gets paid to cover up Obama''s lies! He''s not there for any other reason but to make money! Do you actually think any smart person would really believe all the *** Obama puts out?
The trouble with Obama is that he thinks he can get all this just by waving his magic wand!
Hillary has a more reasonable approach! And she knows the giant steps that will have to be taken and that these issues have to be considered from all angles. And it''s going to take awhile to put those steps into place. And she knows the president can''t do it alone!
In order for Obama to completely build a new government, every republican in Congress would have to be taken out! That''s impossible, and to the destriment of this country.
Hillary''s Democrat boss tells why he fired her: Hillary Clinton Fired For Lies, Unethical Behavior
http://www.northstarwriters.com/dc163.htm
" Jerry Zeifman, a lifelong Democrat, supervised the work of 27-year-old Hillary Rodham on the committee. Her fired her. WHY?
"Because she was a liar,%u201D Zeifman said in an interview last week. %u201CShe was an unethical, dishonest lawyer. She conspired to violate the Constitution, the rules of the House, the rules of the committee and the rules of confidentiality.%u201D
I think I''d rather go with the candidate who promises transparency (with health care and national security decisions being aired on C-Span)and has handled campaign crises by stepping up to the plate and being sincere and talking to us like adults, all the while remaining cool, calm and collected. If Barack Obama is the candidate we can expect him to listen to people who disagree with him, even if they are sometimes offensive. We can expect for him to be a diplomat, and that''s exactly what we need right now. His bottom up philosophy and the fact the we the people funded his campaign ensures that he owes no one favors except for us, so we can be assured our voices will drown out those of the special interest lobbyists. We can''t expect politics to change unless we stand up and make them happen. Divided we fail.
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Posted by erinmc6 at 10:48 PM
So what is your plan to make it all magically fix itself? Standing side by side, holding hands and singing folk songs? It takes hard work! Inspriration is a grand thing, but that alone does not get the job done. What many find inspriring is not flowery speeches, but the cold facts and solutions. Solutions that require hard work, drive and dedication.
I call it leadership. Obama has shown it over and over again. Hilary has not. I find it ironic that her hard work, I will fight, etc. etc are just words delivered in a speech. She promised universal healthcare, and didn''t deliver...becuase she tried to go it alone and showed not one iota of leadership. She promised jobs for New York, and didn''t deliver with her "hard work." She jokes now about being under sniper fire, when our young men and women...who she sent over there with her Iraq vote...actually are under sniper fire on a daily basis. She didn''t even write her own books...although she claims too have written it all in longhand! So no, I don''t see the hard work on Hillary''s part, or the inspiration, or the solutions, or the leadership. She lost me months ago, with her words, and her actions.
In October 2002, Senator Obama said "What I am opposed to is a dumb war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics." Senator Obama was speaking about his opposition to the Iraq war, an opposition which could have stranded him permanently in the Illinois State House (or worse-- remember Senator Max Cleland R-Ga?)
And what was Senator Clinton position around that same time?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hwLaCb07lAs
Watch for yourself. After saying the above on the Senate floor, Senator Clinton voted "aye" to authorize the use of military force in Iraq.
Draw your own conclusion. I don''t know if you will agree with me, but I find that both of their words made a difference. Senator Obama''s words in 2002 give him the ability to tell the world as President that he never wanted this war. His words give him the credibility to say that he does not want to permanently occupy Iraq. Senator Clinton''s words helped put us into Iraq in the first place.
To me, words matter.
What kind of president would you be and who will you represent if elected? your campaign strategist is a CEO of Lobiest firm, and as he serves you to strategize your own campign represents foriegn governments... Shame on you... Plz quit deceiving inocent people.
Also, I%u2019d have to consult the books, but I seem to remember most, if not all, of the %u201Cethically unacceptable%u201D procedures Hillary advocated for the impeachment hearings had all been used at one or another in prior impeachment procedures (the impeachments of the Federalist judges and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson stick out in my mind as the most likely instances.)
Jerry Zeifman has been at this twelve years, using his most reliable source - his diary - which contains few revelations other than a chronicle of his suspicions and speculations.
It%u2019s not clear he had firing authority over Hillary. After the project on which she was working was terminated by Nixon%u2019s resignation, all the staff hired for that project was being let go.
In his piece, Zeifman says he and Speaker Tip O%u2019Neill worked to %u201Ckeep Rodino%u2019s feet to the fire%u201D in hopes of replacing Nixon with Gerald Ford. Rodino was Zeifman%u2019s boss.
What kind of president would you be and who will you represent if elected? your campaign strategist is a CEO of Lobiest firm, and as he serves you to strategize your own campign represents foriegn governments... Shame on you... Plz quit deceiving inocent people.
What kind of president would you be and who will you represent if elected? your campaign strategist is a CEO of Lobiest firm, and as he serves you to strategize your own campign represents foriegn governments... Shame on you... Plz quit deceiving inocent people.
While we are on the subject, I too would like to know how Clinton''s aids reached Vince Foster''s home before police arrived?
How did they managed to know where all of Clinton''s files were so that they could get away with all of them before police arrived?
How can Hillary say she is against NAFTA and have her campaign manager make backdoor deals with expanding Free Trade Agreements with Columbian government?
Clintons seem to be opportunistic givers. She announced $100,000 to South Carolina linaray few weeks before North Carolina primary. Giving for fame, votes, etc makes it meaningless.
Hillary "sniper-fire" Clinton and her campaign chief Mark "snake" Penn are out to help themselves, not the common working class people of this country.
Read the papers with open mind, and vote for someone who is truly willing to work for the working class people of this country. Please vote for someone trustworthy, whether it is McCain or Obama.
Leadership ability? When has Obama shown leadership ability?
He was a total failure in the Illinois legislature for 7 years years, couldn''t get one spit of legislation passed across the aisles! He only got legislation passed when it was handed to him by Jones and people had already been working on it for years!
As a US senator, Obama has passed legislation to name a post office and support efforts in the Congo!
What the hell has he lead? NOTHING!
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