Clinton economic speech echoes trail
Posted: Thursday, January 24, 2008 3:42 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ's Athena Jones
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- It was billed as a major economic speech on what needs to be done immediately to help jumpstart the U.S. economy and avoid recession, but Hillary Clinton's address here Thursday was really a continuation of her recent attacks on Pres. Bush for not doing enough to help and a restatement of the economic stimulus plan she announced earlier this month.
The difference was that she gave it here in this early primary state in a week when global markets have been rocked by uncertainty and at a time when the economy is tops on voters minds.
Much of the language in the address echoed speeches the senator has given in places like Compton, CA, Las Vegas, NV and Hackensack, NJ in recent days, with an emphasis on dealing with the mortgage crisis, providing tax rebates for working and middle class families, helping people pay their energy bills and creating millions of green collar jobs.
She said Pres. Bush had failed to act to help the economy.
"Instead he has stayed at a comfortable cruising altitude, well above the realities of people's lives, delegating responsibilities to his advisers, hoping the buck would stop somewhere else," Clinton told the audience at Furman University. "This administration has delivered a foreclosure notice on the American dream."
She noted African-American families had been particularly hard hit by the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Blacks make up about half of primary voters in this first-in-the-South primary and polls show rival Barack Obama has opened up a wide lead among them.
Over the longer-term, Clinton said a focus on clean energy and rebuilding America's infrastructure would help shore up the economy, ideas she's been talking about for months on the trail in Iowa and New Hampshire. She talked about making college more affordable, helping people save for retirement, changing the tax structure and fiscal responsibility.
The senator said America needed a "hands-on" president, a subtle criticism of both Bush and the kind of management style Obama suggested he might have in a recent debate.
"The presidency matters more now than ever. We need a president who will run the government and manage the economy. The American people don't hire a president to talk about our problems but to solve them, to set a vision for the future and then to roll up our sleeves and get about fulfilling it. It's time we had a president who believes that leading an economic comeback is a full-time, hand on job," she said.
And she touched on the theme of unity.
"The way we bring our country together is by acting on our values. True unity can only be achieved by finding real solutions for the American people and then delivering them. Without real solutions, division and disappointment, not unity will be the result. We've been there before. Pres. Bush promised to be a uniter not a divider and we know how well that turned out," she said.
During the question and answer session, when Clinton was asked about helping the Latino community, she cited her work for the Children's Defense Fund.
"During the course of my work on behalf of the Children's Defense Fund and many of the other positions and jobs that I've had, I have worked closely with practically every community in America. I don't know any that I haven't worked with. Obviously, I have deep roots and very strong relationships in the African-American community and in the Latino community, because I think it's important that we see ourselves as the United States of America, that we see ourselves that we are all part of the American community. But different communities have different needs."
