Featured Democratic Speakers
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton used her appearance in Los Angeles to help her
make the transition from the dutiful role of the first lady to the
stand-alone rigors of her campaign for Senate in New York. Following the
nine Democratic women now serving as senators to the podium Monday night,
Mrs. Clinton reflected on her eight years in the White House and praised
Vice President Al Gore's leadership abilities before turning to her own
campaign themes.
Tailoring a quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to her own use,
Clinton said Americans of this generation have "a rendezvous with
responsibility." She urged prudent use of the growing federal budget surplus
to pay down the national debt, bolster Social Security and add a
prescription drug benefit to Medicare. But she also advocated some tax cuts
for the neediest Americans.
Clinton also advocated raising the minimum wage, offering access to health insurance for all American children and stronger gun safety laws.
Listen to
Hillary Rodham Clinton's remarks in their entirety or read the full text here.
The ground-breaking Mrs. Clinton has taken a full partnership in her
husband's rise to power while building an independent reputation as a
talented lawyer and an activist for social causes -- most notably children's
rights. Until the couple reached the White House -- as Bill Clinton has been
quick to point out -- Hillary's paycheck was always the largest in the
household.
Her role as mother has been no less significant and certainly no less
scrutinized than the rest of her life. And at 52, like countless other
American parents her age, Hillary Rodham Clinton finds herself facing the
empty-nest syndrome after guiding daughter Chelsea through her teen years in
the White House. She thanked the American people Monday night for allowing
Chelsea -- now a Stanford University student -- "space to grow" while she
was in the public spotlight.
After the convention, Clinton returns to her own independent
political career. Her Senate campaign marks the first time in history that a
first lady has ever sought elective office.
Her political journey has already taken her to many states. She began her
teen years in suburban Chicago as a Goldwater Republican, but her
experiences with an inner city church group -- and the drama of the
turbulent 1968 Democratic Convention in her hometown -- drove her to the
Democratic party.
She then became one of just three women on the 43-person legal staff of the
House congressional committee charged with laying the groundwork for the
impeachment of President Richard Nixon -- work cut short by his resignation
in 1974.
And though she arrived as an outsider to Arkansas after marrying her
husband, she served as his closest adviser and won over the people of the
state during Bill Clinton's rise to the governor's mansion.
Now she's an outsider again, running for Senate in a new state where she
just recently established residency.
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