Rallying for Hillary
Harrisburg can throw a good political rally when it wants to.
More than 1,763 people jammed into The Forum in downtown Harrisburg today to hear Sen. Hillary Clinton explain why she ought to win the Democratic nomination for President. People started lining up after about 8 a.m., and by 10:15, when the doors opened, the line was quite long. Not everyone was able to get in.
My daughter and I were in line behind a group of students from Sci-Tech High School in Harrisburg. Their teacher was offering them the chance to work for Hillary today passing out literature. He also said they could work for Obama, though I'm not sure how that trick would have been accomplished at a Hillary rally. A few of the mostly black Sci-Tech students took him up on the offer, enticed by the promise of better seats in the hall.
The rally started fairly close to the promise noon time. The sound system played "Salt of the Earth" by the Rolling Stones, which actually is a great song for a Democratic candidate with its paean to the "hard-working people" and its appeal for a prayer for "the common foot soldier." I'm surprised I've never heard it a rally before. It may be British, but it's way better than "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," the Clinton campaign song in 1992.
So when that song was done, there was a break in the music and anticipation built. Finally, out walks...Catherine Baker Knoll, the aged lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, followed by Mayor Stephen Reed of Harrisburg and Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, all of whom have endorsed Hillary. Finally out came Hillary, the lead singer in this rock band.
Reed gave a stirring introductory speech that stressed all the progressive Democratic concerns, from Iraq to the widening gap between rich and poor in America. Rendell promptly nominated him to run as Hillary's vice president. Reed didn't say anything audible to the audience, but looked pleased, and even more pleased after Hillary praised his more than two decades in office.
It was a perfect segue to her overarching theme of the day, how the nation needs "experience" in the White House in 2009. Once again, she seemed to like presumptive Repubican nominee John McCain better than Barack Obama. Her dissing of Obama's experience level while at the same time saying he'd make a good vice president on her ticket has angered some Democratic activists, who see the negativity as giving the Republicans fodder for the fall campaign. They fear criticism of Obama will resonate with the public more if it comes from a fellow Democrat than from the other party.
I will say this: Hillary is right on all the issues that matter to me. Ending the iraq War quickly, rolling back George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy, and introducing national health care--I couldn't have asked for more. She and Obama are both as liberal as Republicans accuse them of being, and thank God for that. But I question, especially in the wake of the Elliot Spitzer scandal, which she didn't mention, whether the public will go for a candidate who doesn't represent a clean break with the past.
My daughter was enthralled by the spectacle of the rally, of all the waving signs, the rhythmic chanting of Hillary's name, and the things Hillary said from the stage. On the walk home, she recited her own presidential platform, including an end to the Iraq War, health care for all, gay rights, open immigration for Mexicans, and (drum roll) tax cuts. Tax cuts? Where did I go wrong?