WP,pg1, interview: Clinton Cites Lessons of Partisanship: Says She's Best Equipped to Unite America

[DeepModem Mom]

Clinton Cites Lessons of Partisanship
Senator Says She's Best Equipped to Unite America
By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, October 10, 2007; Page A01

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton pushed back against criticism from fellow Democrats that she is too polarizing to unite the country as president, arguing that the political battles she has been through make her uniquely equipped to bring the nation together and build a centrist governing coalition.

In an interview aboard her campaign bus, Clinton (N.Y.) acknowledged that she has contributed to the divisive politics of the past decade but said she has learned from those experiences. She said that if she becomes president, she will attempt to assemble a broad, centrist coalition on such key issues as health care, energy independence and national security. The former first lady called President Bush's political and governing strategy of concentrating primarily on his party's base for support "a tragedy" for the country's politics....
Clinton offered insights into the governing priorities she would bring to the White House, speaking cautiously about extricating the nation from Iraq and urgently about health-care reform. She also said she will take no position on how to fix Social Security and made it clear she does not regard it as a front-burner issue. "I do not believe it is in a crisis," she said of the retirement program.

On Iraq, Clinton continued to avoid being pinned down on how quickly she would withdraw U.S. troops, saying she would begin moving the military out if elected but refusing to give what she described as "the satisfying answer" -- a date when those forces would be gone entirely.

Clinton was similarly vague about how she would handle special interrogation methods used by the CIA. She said that while she does not condone torture, so much has been kept secret that she would not know unlesselected what other extreme measures interrogators are using, and therefore could not say whether she would change or continue existing policies....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/09/AR2007100902284.html?hpid=topnews

[saracat]

1. 'Unite' How? Against her, like Bush? Vageness thy name is Hillary.

"wouldn't be prudent to let the voters know where she "really " stands on important issue. Hillary apparently, according to this , stands for NOTHING, like her supporters say all the arguments against her mean.

[jillan]

2. I beg to differ. There is a candidate running that was able to get 75 yay's on a controversial

bill.

I haven't seen anything like that from Hillary.

[saracat]

3. Very true!