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Clinton: I’m ready to lead now
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Clinton Rally at Youngstown's Chaney High School
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The candidate appeared an hour later than her scheduled time.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN — Hillary Clinton says it’s time “to get America back into the solutions business,” and she told an enthusiastic crowd at Chaney High School that she’s just the person to lead that charge.
When the presidential election is over and the lights are gone, it all comes down to, “Who can you count on?” Clinton said, adding, “You can count on me to stand up for you.”
More than 2,100 people crowded into Chaney’s gym Tuesday to hear Clinton speak at her “Solutions for America” rally, and those who couldn’t get into the gym were offered a seat in the school auditorium to hear the 25-minute speech.
Clinton was scheduled to take the stage at 8:30 p.m. but didn’t appear until an hour later, and the crowd appeared to grow a bit restless listening to politicians and labor leaders making speeches.
The wait was forgotten when Clinton made her way to the raised platform near the center of the gym and the crowd roared its approval.
The election isn’t about her or any of the other candidates, she said, telling the throng that the election is about them, their lives and their future.
“You need a president who will stand up for you, and I will be that president,” she said.
There is a difference between her and her opponent seeking the Democratic Party’s nomination, Clinton said, not identifying Barack Obama by name.
“Only one of us is ready on Day One. One of us is ready to be commander-in-chief in a dangerous world. One of us has a plan to revitalize the economy right now,” she said.
Clinton said she has been criticized about the North American Free Trade Agreement, which her husband, former President Clinton, signed into law.
Despite claims to the contrary, she said she has been a long-time critic of the trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the United States, telling the crowd, “I’m going to fix it.”
She unveiled a four-point plan she said will do that by strengthening NAFTA’s labor and environmental provisions, eliminate investment provisions that grant special rights to foreign companies, strengthen enforcement mechanisms to ensure strict compliance with the agreement and conduct regular reviews of the pact.
Clinton also called for a trade “time-out,” during which no new trade agreements will be negotiated until her administration has formulated a comprehensive trade policy for the 21st century that is pro-worker, pro-American and vigorously enforced.
She promised to “get tough with China” by forcing that country to stop manipulating its currency to the detriment of the American workers, and to open its markets to American products.
She vowed to have universal health care for everyone when she is president,
She said she’ll end the war in Iraq, telling the crowd, “I will start bringing troops home within 60 days.”
“I will restore our leadership and moral authority in the world,” Clinton said.
It was Clinton’s second campaign appearance in the Mahoning Valley in five days. She outlined a plan to restore the economy, boost manufacturing and rebuild a strong and prosperous middle class during a stop at the GM Lordstown complex Thursday.
“I see a middle class comeback that starts right here and now,” she told her supporters at Chaney on Tuesday. “You’re not going to give up on this community, and neither am I.”
gwin@vindy.com