Clinton focuses on nation: Senator talks of Bush failures in accepting Democratic nomination for re-election
By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau
First published: Thursday, June 1, 2006
Buffalo News
BUFFALO -- State Democrats heaped praise and a nomination for a second term on U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday, although some New Yorkers took issue with her stand on the Iraq war.
The former first lady accepted the to run for another six-year term at her party's state convention, where an 18-minute video titled "Standing Up for New York" highlighted her first term.
Following the video, she launched a speech heavy on national themes, doing nothing to quell suspicions of a presidential bid in 2008 with her frequent references to a need for change in the nation's capital.
"I believe we need a fundamentally new direction and we need to work toward new solutions," Clinton said. "We need new leadership to put our country back on the right track."
With her husband, former President Bill Clinton, sitting a few feet away, the senator seemed most energized when criticizing the Bush administration. She attacked the federal response to the disaster in New Orleans and talked about the need for federal policies to improve health care, education, the environment and Social Security.
Bill Clinton appeared in the video, along with others testifying to the senator's achievements, but didn't appear on stage with her until she completed her address to thunderous applause.
In her video, she cited Troy pizzeria operator Rocco DeFazio for being among the innovative people she's met in her travels. She credited his work in developing a Little Italy and a "magnet for tourism."
Sen. Charles Schumer, the state's senior U.S. senator, nominated her, saying "I'm lucky to have her as my partner."
Clinton, a member of the Armed Services Committee, barely addressed the Iraq occupation other than to call for measures to improve troop safety, such as better armor, even after Rep. Jerold Nadler of lower Manhattan delivered a blistering speech against the war.
"Enough with the lies and deceit and evasions," he said about the war policies.
The issue of Clinton not joining several public officials and anti-war activists calling for troop withdrawals drew criticism from two challengers, some Democrats and others at a "peace rally" outside the convention hall Tuesday. And Jonathan Tasini, a Manhattan consultant trying to become the Democratic candidate, called her "right of Joe Bruno," the Republican state Senate leader who has said it's time for the soldiers to come home.
In the end, the Democrats unanimously agreed to a resolution just before the convention broke. It states the nation went to war "illegally" and calls for the end of offensive action and the withdrawal of forces "at the earliest practical date."
Although the Clinton camp had no objection to a resolution, the wording may have been a concern.
Brooklyn delegate Joanne Seminara, a lawyer who announced her support for Tasini, said she received an unexpected 10-minute call from the senator Sunday as she attended her daughter's graduation from Cornell University. The call came about a month after the Brooklyn Democrats for Change endorsed Tasini, who has been calling for immediate withdrawal.
"We don't have to wait," Seminara said, who said only that she and Clinton talked generally about some issues. "This war is immoral and illegal."
State Party Chairman Herman D. Farrell Jr. of Manhattan said the language was a product of reform advocates within the party. "Everybody's been against the war," he said. "The question is what do you do to get out of the war."
