Hillary Clinton swept through Washington D.C. Wednesday night, staying firmly on message in a speech at Constitution Hall despite a slightly hoarse voice and an arguably shrinking chance for victory.
Chelsea Clinton introduced her mother, who donned a hot pink jacket and black slacks. “?I like to think I?m my moms most enthusiastic supporter but there might be a few rivals in the crowd tonight,?” Chelsea said after the crowd gave a rousing standing ovation.
Recommended Stories
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe earlier told the audience the event was sold out of all 2,500 tickets, which attendees purchased for as little as $25. McCauliffe called Clinton ?one resilient woman,? and said ?she is going to keep fighting?, despite calls by some that she quit the race because rival Barack Obama is ahead in the delegate count.
The theme of the event was ?”March to Victory,”? and it indeed featured marching, not by the Clintons but rather the Dunbar High School marching band.
Clinton’?s speech touched on the usual topics — ?the economy, health care, and the war.
The audience was chock full of Clinton?’s base –? older white women — but there were also hundreds of college students, who cheered at Clinton?s promise to address college affordability. Clinton stirred up the audience at the end of her 45-minute speech by asking the audience who they would hire? to turn the economy around, end the war in Iraq, make college affordable, etc.
One attendee, Fairfax teacher Carolyn Gibson, said she is leaning toward Obama, but came to the event at the urging of two female friends who bought the tickets. “?I wanted to hear what she had to say,” Gibson said, particularly about the federal No Child Left Behind policy, which Clinton opposes. ?”I?m still open,?” Gibson said.
Clinton hinted what might be in store for the first President Clinton if she wins the White House? — a ?good will ambassador? tour to repair relations between the United States and other countries. She might want to publicize that plan on every stop. Recent polling indicates that her marriage to Bill Clinton is a troubling aspect of her presidency to many potential voters.
–Susan Ferrechio
