DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION Critics say Clinton should give speech

Clinton said she's not angry about being left out.
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
A top New York Democrat slammed White House hopeful John Kerry's campaign Wednesday for leaving Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton off the speaker lineup at the upcoming party convention in Boston.
"It's a slap in the face, not personally for Hillary Clinton, but for every woman in the Democratic Party and every woman in America," said former state Democratic chairwoman Judith Hope. "It's a total outrage.
"Her omission from the prime-time speaking role is very glaring, and Sen. Kerry needs to step in and correct it," Hope said of the program, which has no New York speakers. "It's not as if she hasn't been a team player. She's worked her heart out.
"It is, frankly, very stupid," she added.
Asked to stop
Hope said she was going to send e-mails to 1,000 women in an effort to get Clinton on the program, but later said Clinton's office had asked her to stop speaking on the issue.
Clinton is a top moneymaker for the party. But she often overshadows other figures she shares the stage with, and is seen as the top Democratic presidential hopeful in 2008 if the Kerry-Edwards ticket fails.
Clinton waved off the fray Wednesday, telling upstate New York radio station WNBF, "I've had many opportunities in the past. I'm not at all deterred from going and being part of this exciting convention."
Kerry aides had defended the move by saying Clinton didn't ask for a role.
But that explanation led one Clinton loyalist to grouse, "She didn't ask? Big deal. She's a rock star in the Democratic Party. She doesn't have to."
Her role
Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill tried to highlight the role Clinton was given for the convention -- appearing with other female senators on opening night. Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski was chosen by Kerry to speak for the group.
And she noted that the convention's keynote speaker is Barack Obama, a black running for one of Illinois' seats in the U.S. Senate.
He's a "new leader on the stage," she said.
"All along, we looked at this [convention] as an opportunity to showcase tomorrow for the Democratic Party," Cahill said.
But many New York Democrats and Clinton loyalists think the Kerry camp has made a colossal mistake.
"She's our rock star in the Democratic Party right now and they should take full advantage, because they need individuals like Hillary to energize this campaign," said Albany, N.Y., Mayor Gerald Jennings, a Democrat.
State Assemblyman Keith Wright, agreed and said: "You gain more by letting her speak, and you start more grumbling if you don't let her speak."
He added: "New York is the epicenter of Democratic politics, and now we have the Republicans coming here to New York, so it would be more appropriate to have Sen. Clinton, who has national stature, to speak in Boston."