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Hillary hits campaign trail
28/01/2007 09:09 - (SA)
Des Moines - Democratic frontrunner Hillary Clinton on Saturday took her bid to become the first female US president to Iowa, where the party will hold its first election to pick the 2008 candidate.
One week after entering the race, the US senator and wife of former president Bill Clinton told a packed school gymnasium in Des Moines that President George W Bush's Republican administration had reversed decades of progress.
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I fear the current president and vice president are going to leave a pretty big hole to be dug out of," she told 1 400 placard-waving supporters.
"I'm running for president because I want to renew the promise of America."
Clinton criticised Bush's policies on the hot-button topics of health care, education and the environment, but carefully dodged a question from an audience member about the Iraq war.
While she has recently voiced criticism of Bush's handling of the war and his deployment of more troops to Iraq, Clinton, who voted for the war, has refused to call it a mistake, alienating many Democrats.
Clinton is battling perceptions that she is aloof and the United States is not ready for a female president, especially one with a disapproval rating that hovers around 40%.
She addressed the gender issue head-on.
"Now, I know there are people who either say or wonder, would we ever elect a woman president?" the New York senator asked to thunderous applause.
"I don't think we will know until we try. I'm going to try. With your help, I think we can do it."
Clinton made numerous references to the work she did with her husband and the legislation she has championed in her six years in the US Senate.
But while she vowed to bring universal health care to the United States - an initiative she failed to achieve as first lady - she discussed little more of her platform.
Instead, she focused on values and the challenges facing average Americans.
"My dad was a World War II vet like some of you here today, and he believed that you work hard, play by the rules, do what you can to further your own life, your country is going to be on your side," she said.
"I don't think I need to tell you that it seems as though some in power in our country have forgotten that. That indeed - they have overlooked the fact that America is great because we have provided opportunity for everyone."
National polls
In national polls, Clinton is consistently about 20 percentage points ahead of her nearest Democratic competitor, Illinois Senator Barack Obama, and is neck-and-neck with the Republican frontrunner, Senator John McCain.
But in a recent poll of Iowa voters, she was trailing behind former vice presidential candidate John Edwards - who has spent a lot of time in the state reconnecting with his supporters from the 2004 race - and Obama, who drew adoring crowds last year when he appeared at an event.
Voters in Iowa, which in January 2008 will be the first state in the country to hold a primary election, can make or break a campaign.
Candidates who fail to place in the top three spots in Iowa's caucus often have trouble garnering the funds and media coverage needed to continue in the race.
"I like her but I'm very concerned about how polarising she is," said Tommi Makila, 36, who attended Clinton's campaign stop in the state capital.
Although he planned to vote for either Edwards or Obama in next January's caucus, Makila said the meeting erased his preconception that Clinton lacked charisma.
"She was quite genuine. I was really impressed," he said.
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