Clinton rally draws mob of supporters

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

With cameras held high over their heads, hundreds of UC Santa Barbara students and supporters welcomed Sen. Hillary Clinton with raucous cheers as she made her way to the raised stage in the UCSB Recreation Center yesterday evening.
With rows of students holding “Clinton Country” and “Ready for Change” signs as a backdrop, the Democratic presidential candidate delivered a 45-minute speech focusing largely on a future vision of the United States and the importance of the upcoming election.

“I think we’re instruments of what Americans want to see reflected from the leadership of this country,” Sen. Clinton said of herself and her fellow candidates. “Even though your names aren’t on the ballot, this election is about you.”
Asking each person in the room to imagine the future of America 25 years from now, she described her own hope for a more peaceful and prosperous world, one with a focus on new ways of cooperating and interacting with other nations.
“[Imagine a world] in which we are determined that together we can tackle any problem that humanity faces,” she said.
In her vision of that world, society will have moved away from carbon-based fuels, a declaration that drew a roar from the crowd. Universal healthcare and higher education for any student willing to pursue a degree will also take center stage, she said.
“Students will not even understand when a professor lectures about how in 2008 there were 47 million uninsured Americans,” Sen. Clinton said. “…In 25 years, teachers will be among the most respected citizens in America.”
In contrast to that future, she described the goal of the current administration as one of maintaining the status quo, of accepting defeat at the hands of global warming, of giving up on a sinking economy, of lamenting the challenges facing the nation but making no changes.
“One of the real tragedies of the last seven years is the way President Bush and Vice President Cheney have governed by fear and infected America with fatalism,” Sen. Clinton said in one of the most emphatic moments of her address. “…Fatalism undermines the American character. It makes us the can’t-do nation. … It is time for the American people, regardless of political party, to stand up and say we’re done with the fear and we’re done with the fatalism.”
After the thundering applause and whistles died down, she stopped in her tracks and delivered her next sentence in a strong, unfaltering tone.
“It begins by ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home.”
Within 60 days of her inauguration, she said, she will start pulling soldiers out of Iraq — one or two brigades a month as the Iraqi government gradually assumes command.
“And when we bring our troops home, we have to take care of them,” she said.
Although the New York senator never mentioned any of the candidates she faces for the Democratic nomination or those battling across the aisle for the Republican nomination, she did not hesitate to level criticism at the Bush administration.
“Every time I think I cannot be outraged any longer by this administration,” she said, trailing off in the audience’s laughter. “…You couldn’t write this stuff. I mean, the vice president shot someone in the face.”

FUTURE CHALLENGES
Despite the occasionally humorous quip or glowing depiction of a rosy future, Sen. Clinton admitted the going is not going to be easy.
“We are sliding into a recession,” she said. “…We have mortgaged our future.”
In addition to restoring the national budget, she also described the imperative need to restore the standing and moral authority of the United States that has been tarnished by the current leadership.
“Starting on January 20, 2009, we have to jumpstart our future.”
After the senator wrapped up her speech, dozens of audience members stood up with questions that ranged from election reform to support of Americans with disabilities. Perhaps her most lengthy response came after one woman asked if she supported amnesty for illegal immigrants.
“No,” she responded, “I will be in favor of comprehensive immigration reform.”
That means toughing and tightening borders, cracking down on employers who hire undocumented workers, providing federal help for communities such as Santa Barbara that bear the brunt of related health care and law enforcement costs, and working with countries to the south to generate jobs there, she said.
As far as the estimated 12 million to 14 million undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States, Sen. Clinton derided a round-up-and-deport strategy, calling it wildly impractical.
“I would ask people to come out of the shadows and register,” she said.
Those who have committed crimes will be deported — a percentage she described as diminutive — and others will have to meet a set of conditions that include paying fines and back taxes over time, learning English, and waiting in line to become a citizen. As a result, she said, employers will no longer be able to undercut their wages, thus leveling the economic playing field.

A LATE START
Announced just days earlier and initially planned to start at around 6:30 p.m., delays pushed the event back to an 8 p.m. starting time. As students and supporters started filtering into the recreation center at around 6 p.m., reports of pandemonium at the general entrance filtered in as well. Many described the crush of thousands attempting to gain one of about 1,000 coveted tickets to the rally.
Those unable to make it into the building gathered in an overflow room or stood near an outdoor speaker near the center, the ground covered with a scattering of trampled trash and caution tape.
Tension grew inside the building prior to Sen. Clinton’s arrival, causing several false alarms as the curtains behind the stage flittered as time wore on. Finally they parted and the senator entered, shaking hands with a row of students and waving, a wide smile across her face.
Taking the stage to introduce the presidential candidate, UCSB’s Associated Students president Stephanie Brower pointed out Sen. Clinton’s last visit to the campus, in 1992 with her husband during his presidential campaign.
“I’m just thrilled to be back,” Sen. Clinton said once she took over the microphone.
Describing the UCSB campus as extraordinary in its high percentage of registered voters, she lauded the students, elected officials and supporters in attendance.
“Being here in Santa Barbara is a great way to end this day.”