Clinton on fundraising, jobs, NAFTA
Posted: Tuesday, April 01, 2008 2:15 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ’s Athena Jones
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. -- Hillary Clinton said her campaign was well positioned when it came to fundraising, argued the public had not faulted her for her remarks about dodging sniper fire Bosnia and repeated that she had long opposed NAFTA in a press conference after delivering remarks to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO.
She also talked about job creation and her goals for working with NATO and with Europe and talked a little bit about the legacy President George W. Bush would leave behind.
On NAFTA: "I spoke out against it inside the White House in the '92 campaign on more than one occasion, and there are many people who have attested to that, because they were in those meetings. The president made a different decision. You know, when you are part of an administration, you go along with what the president finally decides. Sometimes I was very much involved in speaking out on behalf of decisions, and they went the way that I wanted them to go and sometimes they didn't."
On national polls that show Obama's lead growing and on polls suggesting voters saw her as less trustworthy and whether that had anything to do with the flap over the Bosnia story: "I said it was a mistake, and I think that there are plenty of mistakes in speaking that both of us have made during the course of this campaign. I certainly am going to continue to, you know, speak out and talk about what is important and try to be, you know, very careful not to leave words out in what I say. But I think people know that I've been producing positive results for the American people for a number of years now. These polls go up and down. That's been the story of this campaign."
On fundraising: "We're doing well with fundraising. I feel very good that we're going to have the resources we need to compete. I think that you've got two candidates who have proven an amazing ability to raise money, and we're going to keep showing that."
When asked if she was still taking in $1 million a day: "I don't know the answer to that. I think we took in $1 million yesterday, but I can't say that for every day. I just don't know.” And later: "We're raising the money we need, and we're paying our bills. We're keeping going."
The senator added it was important to educate and train workers to ensure they could fill the jobs of the new economy.
On NATO and Europe: "I believe the relationship between America and Europe is critical to American foreign policy, to our standing in the world, our leadership, and I'm looking forward to deepening and strengthening that relationship. You know, there's a very important meeting going on in Bucharest in the next couple of days of NATO considering the admission of some additional countries and putting others in the waiting status that is so important for leading up to NATO membership. I am a strong supporter of expanding NATO."
She added that she hoped to work more closely with Europe on issues like climate change, combating terrorism, public health and regulating financial markets.
She also said she had to think about it, when asked if there was anything positive about the legacy Bush would leave behind, noting some specific smaller areas she agreed on and also her profound disagreements on foreign and domestic policy. "I think he is leaving a legacy of great damage to our nation," she said.
The press conference, which lasted for more than 20 minutes, was somewhat longer than usual, as Clinton kept taking questions even as her aides tried to end it.
The press conference began with Clinton challenging Obama to a winner-take-all bowl off, a joke to mark April Fool's Day.
