Mondale endorses Clinton
Posted: Sunday, November 04, 2007 3:18 PM by Mark Murray
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
CLINTON, IA, -- At a lodge here along the Mississippi River,
Clinton received the support of former Vice President and presidential candidate
Walter Mondale.
Mondale, who was the first presidential candidate to choose a woman as his running mate, stressed Iowa's importance in the nomination process and urged people to come out and help Clinton make history. "Much is expected of you because, time and again, the citizens of Iowa have been showing themselves willing to take the extra step to get the job done. In Iowa, you just don't vote in the caucuses. You've got to go to the caucuses and you've to stay at those caucuses until the last vote is taken," he said.
The former vice president said Clinton's experience in public life and as first lady made her uniquely qualified to be president, and that she would be a president who would put people, their families, and the needs of Americans first. After a tough week for Clinton -- which included her stumble during the Democratic debate and intense criticism from her rivals in both parties -- Mondale applauded what he called her positive campaign.
"One thing I like about her campaign is that she's stayed focused on her positive vision for change. She knows this is not the time to tear down our fellow Democrats with personal attacks," he said.
Clinton told the audience she was honored to be here with Mondale. "I urge you to participate, and I ask you to consider my candidacy," Clinton said. She then asked that the podium be moved so that she could address the crowd more informally.
"If I could have some help, we're going to get this podium out of the way here and I think that a couple of strong young men could come up, and even some strong young women, and move this out of the way," she said to chuckles in the audience.
After her stump speech, the senator answered questions on Social Security, abortion, low birth-weight babies, regulating industries, and how to prevent so many wars.
