11:45 and hello from a hotel ballroom just off I-80 in Iowa City. The candidate is about 30 or so minutes away.
Room is filling up, leans a little older (due to the mid-day) and a little female but not overwhelmingly so. The haters were out with the usual freshly grilled fetus signs - haven't seen them bother other candidates - and a lone peace person but that was 20 or so minutes ago.
Chitchatted with Supervisor Stutsman, she's introducing the Vilsacks; I pushed a little but didn't hear the Magic E Word.
High Noon and another difference vs. other candidate events is a Secret Service presence, those old familiar ear wires and cryptic pins. Gives you the feel of a general election, not an early caucus event. They got the needed volunteers, which included some familiar labor faces.
Media scrum is massive. A disgruntled moment: a longtime local conservative Dem who has distanced herself from the party snares a front row seat. I opted for the press gallery; frees up a civilian seat for others and closer to electricity. Later I'll go to the invite event; may or may not blog that depending on the ground rules. Trying to respect my dual role here.
Some friends of mine scored good seats too and may get some pics; however they're suffering from Springsteen-Manfred Mann syndrome and are blinded by the light from the TV crews. One more Heisenberg Effect where covering the event changes the event.
12:07 Room close to full now, crowd chatty and excited. Looks like my view will be back of the head. But we're about content anyway here at John Deeth Blog. They fed folks box lunches but I didn't partake. Noticing more younger women here (This is a journalistic statement only and all are well below my age line, he says since I know my girlfriend is reading).
12:16 and there's an Any Time Now buzz. Having the overheating issues so I scooped the loop for elected; none here except the aforementioned Stutsman and my boss. (the legislators of course are in session) My count is about 400 in a theater in the round (square actually) format. The party leadership and core activists are mostly here though. Maybe the electeds will be at the second event.
No music playing.
12:23 Showtime and Stutsman is introing TV. No way I'm trying pictures from here. Can't even see them. Vilsack gets lengthy applause, close to two minutes.
TV gives the endorsement bullet points:
12:32 She's on. Working the round thing well. Basketball coach joke. Flashbulb Flashbulb Flashbulb. Tells Tom Bell story (that's CV's brother) Etc etc Vilsack praising.
"I've been searching for ways to campaign the Iowa way and trying to shrink my events." Today Mt. Pleasant b-fast and Crawfordsville biodiesel. Energy independence gets applause.
We are the people who have historically met challenges. Individual stories and American history = forward progress, economic and social. (Age joke) I was born into average family: self reliance hard work etc. I had my family on my side - and my country on my side. Not so long ago we believed we were all in this together. Jokes about her teachers, imagines Ike calling her teacher and saying "teach these kids more math and science." I never doubted America would meet its goals: opportunity, and segregation = never doubted it.
What are our goals today?
"I want to be a president who sets goals."
Universal health care. (applause) "I still have the scars from 1993-94." But I have seen the changes happen and now people believe we finally have to do it. Not just about the uninsured, though that's disgraceful. Also about the under insured. I hear many stories when people call my office in desperation. (Mike Glover The Underrated One is roaming from his crouch in the corner)
Spending $2 trillion and not getting $$'s worth. Electronic records - would save $100 billion. "Not just a plan, but a movement of people who will stand behind me as president to get this done."
Energy Independence ASAP. (more applause) We should be able to make a public-private partnership on a scale that will really move us. Take subsidies away from oil and put then to renewables (appl) "We're still doin' what we know doesn't work." A little support here and there is not a PLAN. We need a multi-faceted plan and Bush-Cheney determined to stay on track we're on. "We send billions to regimes who spend it against us." Must get serious about climate change. Also millions of jobs if we do it right. 14 new jobs at Crawfordsville. 300 people applied. And we need a source of new jobs.
Education. No child is an unfunded mandate, shrinking the curriculum and inaccurate. Fix it and change it. Access to universal preschool (appl) A potential competitive advantage for us. Biggest return on any investment we make: Invest a dollar, get 7.
Make college affordable again (she IS in Iowa City...) Used to be better grants, loans, paid bigger %age of costs. My generation wasn't saddled with lifetime debts.
Incentivising rural developments. "Working to convince Iowans we have farms in New York." Upstate is much like Iowa, young people leaving. Small towns integral to America. Done a lot of work on this in NY. Could make broader progress with a plan.
"We have a lot of work to do around the world, don't we." Latin America, China, Darfur, India-Pakistan... Iran and nukes... "and obviously and most painfully Iraq."
After 9/11 we had the world on our side for a short time. Look what has happened. Largely due to this president breaking the continuity of presidents who believed in negotiations, alliances and treaties. That has been rejected.
All through the Cold War, we never stopped talking. Both GOP and Dems in White House kept talking. "All those things eventually led to the fall of Communism. Our presidents never gave up. We need to get back to that.'
We're working in Congress to persuade Bush to change course. We have passed measures in both chambers (appl) Veto threat is unfortunate - "it vetoes not just a bill but the will of the American people" (appl) We are a co equal branch, try to work out disagreements. It its Bush's responsibility to extricate us: he mismanaged and has failed to recognize the reality. We have no business in middle of sectarian civil war (big appl) If Bush does not "when I am president I will"
My eye are wide open - I know the damage that has been done. Big repair job. I want to get back to time when everyone felt like they were contributing to America. Health care shift from sickness to prevention - we have to change system AND behavior. It's upside down and backwards: can't get podiatrist, can get foot amputated.
Energy - people need to conserve as part of the plan. "My husband walks around with a bag of fluorescent light bulbs" (that's the first reference to Clinton 42) And education won't work if kids don't study.
"In case you haven't noticed, I'm a woman. I'm not running as a woman, I'm running because I believe I'm the most qualified and experienced person."
Making the pitch for support. "I'm running to lay the groundwork for the general election and to have the country united behind me."
We can get back into the solution business, get past the divisiveness. If we look at this election as a defining moment to give us back confidence and respect, then we can say "America, we're back."
1:06 and the speech is a wrap as the applause continues. Taking questions.
"How `bout social security?" "It's not gonna get privatized when I'm president." (appl) Need to repay trust fund. 6 years ago we had a balanced budget and a surplus. Need to get back to fiscal responsibility. Need ways to supplement savings, not INSTEAD of Soc Sec.
Hostile question about Secret Service costs: "DO you charge the Secret Servive rent?" She says we do what other former POTUS's do and we do what rules require, will look into it.
Illegal immigration: Comprehensive reform. 1) border security - people and technology. We can do a lot better. 2) tougher employer sanctions (appl) 3) Help local communities with health care, education, legal costs. 4) Better understanding with Mexico about job creation in their own country (appl) 5) Fines, back taxes, learn english, and wait in line, before a path to citizenship. Send them all back would cost billions and unworkable.
10 year old girl is a big fan and gets laughs with "my FIRST question is..." uninsured kids. HRC: "This young girl has a real future." Talks about HAWK-I program. Dem congress passed increases in budget for uninsured kids.
Hard to hear questions: Sounds like the Iowans for Sensible Priorities question. HRC: we can reduce nuclear arsenal (no specific number), and I oppose next generation. Want to get back to funding Nunn-Lugar destruction of nuclear material in former USSR.
Gina Schatteman: Abu Gharib. HRC: Hard to get good info on Gitmo. I opposed tribunal system. I want to personally know what's happening, not what Bush admin is telling me. Want to be sre my decision is based on real facts, hard to get before you're actually in office. Will have to be closed, but no timeline yet.
Elderly assets and nursing home costs. HRC: "Long term care has to be carefully examined." Need different levels of care: folks who don't need nursing home but can't stay in homes. Will look across the board.
What can congress do about mis-spending in Iraq/ HRC: hearings finally starting. No bid contracts fleece taxpayers, and troops betrayed. (appl at troops mention) "This whole question of outsourcing gov't is "another thing we'll look at closely." I'm noticing that phrase - "we'll look at this closely." References the Truman Commission of WW2 "he wasn't afraid to investigate a Dem. administration." GOP congress closed their eyes to this.
One more question: a little boy... "What about this stuff about this rat poisining in dog food?" (laughs) HRC: "That's a great question." You should assume products are safe. "We need to get the FDA back in the busines of actually..." (cut off by applause)
1:26 and Christy Vilsack closes. I think HRC is gonna work the room a bit and so the handshakes.
CV talks about pioneer women: "I want a president who is undaunted by barriers put before her." "We've seen Senator Clinton stand up to these bullies quite a few times." And Christy the organizer (I still say the yard sign plan she wrote in 1992 is the best one I've ever seen) makes the pledge card pitch.
I'm gonna cut out soon to the other event.
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