Posted on 09/02/2007 2:46:49 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
CONCORD, N.H. - Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton on Sunday directly challenged her top rivals' claims that she is too conventional to bring needed change to Washington, declaring "you bring change by working in the system."
Clinton argued that political transformation can come only by working within established rules and seeking common ground when necessary.
Her years as part of the Washington establishment as first lady and as a New York senator have convinced her that real change can come only by seeking consensus, she told a rally on the lawn of the New Hampshire state capitol.
"I've learned you bring change by working in the system established by Constitution. You can't pretend the system doesn't exist," she maintained, seeking to counter arguments by rivals Barrack Obama and John Edwards that she has been too cozy with the Washington establishment.
"It's not just about dreams, it's about results. That's what we need to do again — we need to dream big, and then get those dreams to be the reality in the lives of Americans."
She cited President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's creation of social security and Lyndon Johnson's press for the Voting Rights Act and the Great Society as examples of transformative policy enacted through compromise.
More forcefully than usual, she also reminded the audience that she is running to be the first woman president.
"I believe that this nation can shatter the highest glass ceiling," she said.
Clinton's newly tailored stump speech and two-day Labor Day swing with her husband, the former president, signaled a new phase in the campaign calendar. Candidates from both parties were making Labor Day weekend appearances across the country as the symbolic start of the furious four-month period before voting begins.
With Clinton riding high in national and most state polls, Obama and Edwards have tried to paint her as both polarizing and as a tool of the political establishment.
Both have argued that she is too cozy with special interests in Washington, particularly after she defended her decision to take money from lobbyists at a candidates' forum last month.
Edwards has been particularly blunt, calling Clinton the candidate of the past and drawing attention to the fundraising scandals and other less savory aspects of Bill Clinton's presidency.
Without mentioning either rival by name, Clinton tried to dismantle those arguments. She noted that much of her political success had come from winning over Republicans as she did running for Senate in upstate New York.
She vowed that if she is elected, she would ask distinguished Americans of both parties to travel the world before her inauguration to signal a new, more inclusive world view. But she said she would never compromise on key issues, such as abortion rights.
"Ultimately, to bring change, you have to know when to stand your ground, and when to find common ground," she said. "You need to know when to stick to principles and fight, and know when to make principled compromises."
As for the claim that she is too tight with special interests, Clinton said no one had more experience fighting them than she did.
"I've been standing up to special interests and taking all their incoming fire for 15 years. And guess what, I'm still standing, and proud to fight every step of the way," she said to cheers.
As he has in the past, Bill Clinton thanked New Hampshire voters for making him the "comeback kid" in 1992. But he said the issues facing the country now were even more urgent than they were during his election.
"You want to restore our prestige around the world overnight? Elect Hillary president," he said.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Hillary Rodham-Clinton (D-NY) and her husband, former President Bill Clinton (R) on the stage as they campaign at a Fall Kick-Off rally in Concord, New Hampshire on September 2, 2007. (Greg M. Cooper/Reuters)
I gag each time I see a picture of these twp peverted clowns, that want to ruin our country.
Meadow Muffin
Are you kidding me???? This one wants to REWRITE all the rules and impose socialism on us all.
I swear democrats are blithering idiots.
Clinton & rules?
Gimme a frig'n break.
She ought to change her pantsuit. Ole crusty.
Regards
Caught some snatches of the Beast’s speech on Fox today. She will never be President. Her voice curdles milk. No one can listen more than 30 seconds without reaching for the remote.
What the he!!, she handled her marriage to a previous POTUS well so world affairs as a sitting POTUS with the exPOTUS to guide her?
Piece of cake! /s
The mantle of change is communism.
The mantle of change is communism.
The mantle of change is communism.
The mantle of change is communism.
######As for the claim that she is too tight with special interests, Clinton said no one had more experience fighting them than she did.#####
Anyone who can lie that casually is very dangerous.
######”I’ve been standing up to special interests and taking all their incoming fire for 15 years. And guess what, I’m still standing, and proud to fight every step of the way,” she said to cheers.######
Anyone stupid enough to believe her statement and to cheer it needs to be forced to take a literacy test before voting.
Proof positive that there is a God dripping with compassion for humanity.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
There, fixed it ........
Why does she travel so much will Bill?
Who is running, her or him?
Is this supposed to be like a 3rd term for Bill? Is this a 2 for 1 blue plate special election again?
Is Hillary not strong enough to do this on her own?
Does Bill have to be there to tell her what to do?
Who is going to be in charge when the media is absent, back in the Oval Office, during private times. Him or her?
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