Last night, Hillary Clinton was in NYC for the event "Hillary Live" at The Town Hall in NYC.  The event was moderated by Tom Vilsack and had a special guest, Gen. Wes Clark who was in NYC for his new book.  The crowd was mixed - there were many Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans - a pretty even (60f/40m ???) gender difference, lots of college students, gay men, and the age range was pretty healthy as well.  In attendance was former Mayor Dinkins, as well as a few other state officials (roughly 10?). Well.. moving on...

Tom Vilsack opened up the night, speaking for about 15 minutes, and told two stories about people from Iowa, he was a good speaker, but didnt really do much for me. He was all right, but people just wanted him to finish so that HRC can come on. He then introduced Sen. Clinton to loud applause that took a while to settle down, Hillary actually had to wave people down to begin speaking.

Hillary spoke for about 25 minutes and then introduced Gen. Clark (With some people yelling Clinton/Clark and/or VP Clark). Gen. Clark then addressed the audience stating tht Hillary is by far the most qualified person to lead in the race. He called her smart and brilliant, pointed out that she has been to Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. He said she will be the best President America has ever had, lastly he said "she has paid her dues" (a military slogan suggesting someone has worked hard for their position).

She outlined her four main goals as President, and some of these points were also spoken about in the question and answer session:

1. Leadership in the World:  In this section, she spoke about a lot of the problems in the world right now, every thing from the increase in antagonistic governments in South America; problems in the middle east (Iraq, Iran/Israel/Syria tension); problems in Africa (Sudan/Chad); and Russia moving away from Democracy.  At the end of talking about all of these problems, she bashed the Bush administration. She then went on to say the day after the election, before she is inaugurated, she will send both highly respected republicans and democrats around the world to declare the end of "Cowboy Diplomacy" to great applause.  

She spoke in depth about Darfur, and the fact that the US is no longer leading in the world on humanitarian issues, unlike during Bill's Presidency during the Kosovo campaign. She said the US and NATO should have enforced a no fly zone in Darfur two years ago, as well as going into detail why. She also said the UN backed AU troops do not have enough air support, logistical support, and its basically a losing mission unless something gets done. She complained that the UN is moving too slowly. The failure to do so, will only cause more problems. Lastly, she said this is a position in which the US can get tough on China, and that China has to stop enabling the disaster.

On Iraq, she stated that the US military has done everything asked of them: Getting rid of Saddam Hussein, get elections to occur, and allow a government to be formed, and they must now stop policing a civil war and move out of combat rolls. She went into the ins and outs of how Congress works (which i wont do here). She spoke about the Webb Amendment that didnt pass because of the dire need for 60 votes, and the Republicans want to stay the course. She pointed out the hypocrisy of Bush's statements saying that they are withdrawing 30K troops, because they were going to be withdrawn anyway.  She also said (which you might have caught on CNN) that every time there is Republican angst, Cheney comes down in his motorcade, and out comes "Darth Vader" to which the entire place shook with laughter and clapping. (Her humor was spot on and worked well). She again expressed the need for either Republicans to vote with Democrats on the issue, or to vote them out (at which point she mentioned Udall, Shaheen, and Warner as people who would be great additions to the Senate).

2:  The second major topic was Healthcare. She spoke about her recent health care plan which came out on Monday.  She said she didnt specifically pick a Single Payer plan because it probably will not be possible to pass. People like Choices, and her plan gives plenty of choices. People can keep their plan (which she also said was not stressed in 93/94... people thought the Government was taking over medicine, and people dont like that idea. Americans especially always want multiple choices for everything, and also want choices for insurance).  She spoke about opening up Congressional plans. She said when she brought that up in 1993, a lot of people in Congress spoke out against it, and now that she is actually in Congress, she doesnt understand why Americans, who pay for Congressional healthcare cannot get the same options.  She spoke about not being denied due to pre-existing conditions, and spoke about a public plan like medicare that will also be an option.  She was very clear that if you like your insurance, you can keep it, and it will not change if you do not want it to. She also said that was a lesson learned in 93. If people feel like the Government is interfering in their insurance, then they will turn against it, but if they know that it wont affect them, then they will not be antagonistic against it, and it will help in the long run to cover the 47 million uninsured Americans. Lastly, she said Congressmembers pay on average 3K less than the average American, and many Americans will most likely want to save that 3K. Then there is the public plan option which might be attractive to many Americans as well. (I think I touched on most of her points on UHC).

3. Energy - She spoke about Global warming and how important an issue it is. (Here she also knocked Bush and had a little joke saying "wouldnt it be great to have a president who isnt afraid to say global warming" too loud applause). She also included it on the list of one of the biggest threats to America along with Global terrorism and WMD proliferation. She said we have to learn from other countries (the Dutch on Wind, Brazil on biofuels etc.) as well as Americans making an effort at becoming more energy efficient (Talks about California using 50% less per capita than the rest of Americans).
There wasnt a follow up question on Energy so she only had a chance to talk about it during her opening speech.

4. Children -
Here she spoke about her time in the Childrens Defense Fund, SCHIP, and the Healthy Schools Act. She spoke about the need for Universal Pre-K and the failures of NCLB (and how she doesnt want our children to turn into walking standardized tests) to great applause.  She spoke about how she doesnt want to be a part of the first generation that sets children in America back instead of moving forward.  There should be no reason why America is the most productive country in the world, and yet, every 29 seconds someone drops out of high school.  She said that even though education is mostly State/Locally funded, the Federal Government should make it easier and areas that are poorer should get more federal funding.  She covered many aspects about different issues facing children, including getting access to vaccinations and other accomplishments.

Both Wes Clark and Hillary Clinton spoke about the current administration blurring the lines between civilian leadership and military roles. They both said Gen. Petraeus was an extraordinary leader but who has an unachievable goals. Political progress has not taken hold in Iraq because there is no military solution.  They said that President Bush has confined Petraeus' mission into set parameters, and he can only move within those parameters. General Clark said that Bill never hid behind a general, and neither will Hillary. Hillary also said she is not intereseted in Yes men/women.

Overall, the night was pretty amazing.  At one point Hillary stated that "Bill is a force of Nature" and she conceded that she isnt like him, they campaign differently, but the crowd didnt have any of it, as exemplified by a gentleman yelling "SO ARE YOU!" to yet more applause and laughter.  Hillary was interrupted with applause many times and General Clark was a pleasant surprise to the mix.  All that for $25 - I say sign me up next time as well.

P.S. My roll of film didnt work out (I forgot my digital camera) but i have some videos from my phone, will try to get those up ASAP.

I just replied to a post by lori regarding HRC's likely VP picks and it gave me the idea to dedicate an entire diary about it. I would like to try to initiate some discussion about who each candidate is likely to pick as their running mate, should they get the nomination. I thought it would be nice to see a diary that doesn't focus on red-faced name calling between the partisans of each candidate.

Now we see why Vilsack endorsed Hillary at this early stage...

DES MOINES, Iowa - Democratic presidential contender        Hillary Rodham Clinton has agreed to help one-time candidate Tom Vilsack, who endorsed her on Monday, as he seeks to retire a campaign debt of more than $400,000.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070328/ap_o n_el_pr/clinton_vilsack;_ylt=AlTK6LZZtnZ ph_29To71TrKyFz4D

Tom Vilsack has sent out an endorsement email for Hillary Clinton which details the reasons he is supporting her.

http://bluesunbelt.com/showDiary.do?diar yId=329

I have been working hard behind the scenes over the weekend, trying to figure it all out, and am ready to lay it all out there for your minds to churn over this spring Monday morning.

First, you'll recall, on February 23rd, Tom Vilsack dropped out of the Presidential contest. Vilsack, you'll recall, was also the first candidate to enter the Presidential contest-- an omen if I've ever seen one. This is an image captured off of channel 4 in Iowa at the news conference where Vilsack dropped out of the race:

Now, I don't know what strikes you about the scene, but for me, it's that big flaming V, and that got me thinking, cause as I documented on the irretrievable BB archives, I re-watched the movie "1984" again at the beginning of March. That's right-- I'd seen this movie before.

Right. Next thing you know, Vote Different launched on YouTube, is going viral on the political blogs, unraveling a slew of events that would happen in later weeks. Arriving at... today.

Today is Monday, March 26th, and Hillary Clinton will be in Iowa today, where Tom Vilsack will endorse Hillary Clinton for President.

Now, you might all have not figured this out yet, but let me give you a clue: Gary Hart. That's right, you'll recall March 1984, after Hart upset (ok, "beat expectations against") Mondale in Iowa... but you'd be wrong... I think.  And anyway, in the next post of this mini-series, I'll reveal the possible source of hope-- as they say abroad of the symbol:

"Obama 08' emblazoned with a symbol resembling a rising sun."

The Des Moines Register reports that Sen. Hillary Clinton has picked up the endorsement of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.

http://bluesunbelt.com/showDiary.do?diar yId=305

Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack will endorse U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential run Monday, an official close to the situation said today.

Vilsack gave up his own run for the presidency in February, setting up a scramble for his supporters. He is widely considered a possible pick for vice president or a cabinet post if a Democrat wins the White House in 2008.

Clinton's campaign said it was planning a "major announcement" in Des Moines Monday morning, but wouldn't say what the announcement entails.

http://desmoinesregi...

Last Monday morning I had the opportunity to speak with former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack for MyDD's program on Blog Talk Radio. At the time, Vilsack was still a candidate for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, and though he has since dropped out of the race, this interview is nonetheless still germane to the discussion about the race for the Democratic nomination, particularly as it relates to the Iowa caucuses.

You can listen to the interview here over at Blog Talk Radio (it begins a few minutes into the program) or read the transcript below. Note: I will be posting my previously unpublished interview with another candidate who is still in the race, Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, tomorrow morning at about 11:00 AM Eastern.

Jonathan Singer: Let's start off with kind of the central issue of the 2006 campaign and, it seems likely, the 2008 campaign, and that is Iraq. Assuming, and unfortunately I think it is fair to assume, that American troops will still be in Iraq on January 20, 2009, just because of the President's insistence on doing so. What would you do - what will you do as President starting January 20, 2009 to end American involvement in Iraq?

Tom Vilsack: Let me first of all say that I don't necessarily accept the premise of the question, which is there is nothing that can be done prior to January 20, 2009. I think it's incumbent upon everyone who is running for office, everyone who is in a position of authority and power in Washington, DC to do what they can to stop this war as quickly as we can.

There is no question that this is a civil war and our young men and women are in the middle of it. Our military has provided the Iraqis with the opportunity to form a government, create a nation and an economy, but they must take advantage of it. We can't force them to do so. So were I president today or were I president in January of 2009, the goal would be to get our troops out of harm's way as quickly as possible and end our involvement in this war.

Tom Vilsack, a short time ago, quit the Presidential race.  And it's an understandible decision: he isn't raising much money, he's not polling above fourth in his home state, he pissed off Atrios and made a bad suggestion about Social Security...all good reasons for dropping out.  And he didn't even insult our intelligence by saying it was to "spend more time with family."

I think that Vilsack was probably right to get out--from an 'expectations game' perspective, his poor showing in Iowa would probably doom him--but we're still left with a number of likely also-rans, including Biden, Dodd, Richardson, Kucinich, Gravel, and Clark (if he runs).  As far as I'm concerned, we might as well write off Kucinich and Gravel just on the basis of sheer implausibility (what Kos might call "ugh").  But in the wake of the Vilsack withdrawal, we should consider for a moment just what the paradigm is within this primary, and what we should look for from these not-first-tier candidates.