ad info

 
CNN.comTranscripts
 
Editions | myCNN | Video | Audio | Headline News Brief | Feedback  

 

  Search
 
 

 

TOP STORIES

Bush signs order opening 'faith-based' charity office for business

Rescues continue 4 days after devastating India earthquake

DaimlerChrysler employees join rapidly swelling ranks of laid-off U.S. workers

Disney's GO.com is a goner

(MORE)

MARKETS
4:30pm ET, 4/16
144.70
8257.60
3.71
1394.72
10.90
879.91
 


WORLD

U.S.

POLITICS

LAW

TECHNOLOGY

ENTERTAINMENT

 
TRAVEL

ARTS & STYLE



(MORE HEADLINES)
 
CNN Websites
Networks image


Sunday Morning News

Hillary Rodham Clinton Talks About Democratic Convention and Her Run For N.Y. Senate

Aired August 13, 2000 - 8:38 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: With President Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton in Los Angeles this weekend raising money for their own personal causes, there have been some grumblings from the Gore campaign that the Clintons are stealing the spotlight from the vice president.

CNN's Frank Buckley sat down with the first lady to talk about that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): So much has been made of the idea that somehow you are stealing the spotlight from Al Gore. What do you have to say to people who have been saying things like that?

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), N.Y. SENATE CANDIDATE: Well, of course, that's not the case. We are trying to shine the spotlight on Al and Joe by talking about the issues that they stand for and the progress that has been made under the Clinton-Gore administration and why a Gore-Lieberman administration would be the best thing for America.

And we're going to be doing everything we can to get that message across and certainly when the president speaks Monday night he's going to be talking about the accomplishments of this administration and the work that remains to be done and why Al and Joe are the best people to do it.

BUCKLEY: As you look back on the president's legacy, what would you like President Clinton to be remembered for?

RODHAM CLINTON: I think that he restored our economic well being and our national spirit and if you look at the accomplishments that resulted from the change in direction that he brought to the White House and that he and Al have managed and led us through, he's really positioned America well for the 21st century.

And one of the strongest arguments for Al Gore is that he understands the future. He knows where we're going. He really gets technology and the scientific changes that are so rapidly transforming the way we live. So we can build on the hard work that the president and the vice president had to do these last eight years to really straighten things out.

I think that anybody who fairly looks at what they inherited when they went into the White House in 1993 knows there was a lot of work to be done.

Now, though, we're in a very strong position here at home and around the world and the question is what are we going to do with that? And we have a very clear choice because the other party offers a recipe for going back to the past. They wrap it up in the talk of the future and nice sounding rhetoric, but if you look at their economic plans and where they stand on other important issues like education and health care, it's really a sound for retreat and Al and Joe are going to be building on the new Democrat philosophy that Bill and Al brought to the White House and I would hope that every American really understands what's at stake in this election.

BUCKLEY: One of the things that Rick Lazio says over and over again is ask Hillary Clinton what she has done for New York during the past 30 years. What have you done?

RODHAM CLINTON: Well, you know, there are so many answers to that and one of the first is that I supported Bill Clinton and Al Gore and that was good for New York. And we've seen the results of that. But I've also had a long record of work on behalf of children and families going back 30 years. And I took that work with me to the White House. And so when I worked to reform the foster care and adoption system, that certainly helped people all over the country, including New York. And when I worked for the children's health insurance program that began to insure the children of working families, that's also helped a lot of people.

I think on so many issues where I've stood is where most New Yorkers stand. And time and time again, my opponent has voted with the Republican leadership and against the interests of New York. So I can't wait for the debates and for us being able to talk to him about his record, which he doesn't seem interested in really admitting or acknowledging or discussing because when people know what he's done and what I've stood for, I think they will feel very comfortable voting for me.

BUCKLEY: As you look back over the past year, was it what you expected?

RODHAM CLINTON: Well, I didn't know what to expect because even though I had been around political campaigns for many years, I had never been a candidate before and never had really visualized it or thought about doing it. I've had a lot to learn. It has been an incredible experience. I thank the literally tens of thousands of New Yorkers who have been kind and supportive to me along the way. I've enjoyed traveling to all 62 counties and really seeing firsthand what the problems of the state are and telling people what I would do as senator to try to deal with those.

So it's been an absolutely wonderful personal experience for me and I want to put that experience to work for New York. BUCKLEY: In the polls, you consistently stay in the 40s. What will you do to get through that and to achieve the margin that you need to win?

RODHAM CLINTON: Well, you know, I think most people aren't really focused on any election until after Labor Day. There's, well, you know, discussion about issues and people get to meet candidates, but until the fall comes there's not a real commitment to sorting it all out. And as people really look at the differences between us and realize that, you know, I'm pro-choice, he's multiple choice. I'm for the Million Man March agenda to license handgun owners and register handguns and he doesn't agree with that and calls it intrusive. And I'm for getting money for modernizing and constructing schools in New York and he's voted against it. I'm for a patients' bill of rights that actually holds HMOs accountable. He's for the Republican leadership bill that doesn't.

There are so many differences between us and time and time again I have been convinced that New Yorkers when they know those differences are going to be voting for me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com

 Search   


Back to the top  © 2001 Cable News Network. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.