Hillary as Goldilocks
Posted: Thursday, May 01, 2008 2:59 PM by Domenico Montanaro
From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli
BROWNSBURG, Ind. -- Hillary Clinton this morning planted herself in the middle of the three presidential hopefuls when it comes to gas tax plans, joking, “I sometimes feel like the Goldilocks of this campaign.”
“You know, not too much, not too little, just right,” she said, after saying Barack Obama viewed a holiday as a “gimmick,” while McCain does not fund his plan.
Clinton was answering a question about how to address the high price of oil, and if there was a longer-term solution to the problem than her gas tax plan.
“Nobody is arguing it's an answer,” she said. “But, you know what it says -- and boy, we haven't heard this in a long time. It says, guess what? We’re paying attention to how much you are suffering with these increased costs.”
Clinton actually began the event by pointing out that it was the National Day of Prayer.
“I was privileged before I came in to meet with a group of ministers who prayed with me. And I am very grateful for that,” she said. “I am obviously sustained and strengthened every day by my faith. But it is important that we all recognize that praying for our country, praying for those in positions of authority, is something that people of faith are really called upon to do.”
Calling attention to her faith and mentioning the ministers, whether intentionally or not, provided a subtle reference to the Jeremiah Wright flare up. Clinton has made few comments about it of late, most notably in last night’s interview when pressed by Bill O’Reilly.
This morning’s event, which also featured the candidate’s mother and daughter, was focused on Clinton’s plan to help families deal with issues related to child care and senior care. She has proposed a $3,000 care-giving tax credit and long-term care insurance tax credit, among other plans.
“I think it is harder raising children today than it was even when I was raising my daughter,” she said. “The American family has to adjust and adapt while maintaining our values, and passing those on to the next generation.”
Clinton actually went to the bullpen and called on her daughter at one point to help explain her health-care policy, saying her voice was “getting a little bit raspy.”
Chelsea did so, saying that she was proud her mother “stood up for universal health care coverage before it was popular,” but also “learned from her experiences.”
“If you do like your health insurance you can keep it,” she said. “That’s one of the things she learned in ’93 and ’94. I know parents are happy when we learn our lessons, but kids are happy when our parents learn lessons, too.”
