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Hillary Clinton Speaks on Roosevelt Island; Interview with Hillary's Press Secretary Brian Fallon. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired June 13, 2015 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[12:00:00] HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have to wonder, America's kindergarten teachers combined and often paying a lower tax rate.
So, you have to wonder: "When does my hard work pay off? When does my family get ahead?" When? I say now. Prosperity can't be just for CEOs and hedge fund managers. Democracy can't be just for billionaires and corporations. Prosperity and democracy are part of your basic bargain too.
You brought our country back. Now it's time -- your time to secure the gains and move ahead. And, you know what? America can't succeed unless you succeed. That is why I am running for President of the United States.
Here, on Roosevelt Island, I believe we have a continuing rendezvous with destiny. Each American and the country we cherish. I'm running to make our economy work for you and for every American, for the successful and the struggling, for the innovators and inventors, for those breaking barriers in technology and discovering cures for diseases, for the factory workers and food servers who stand on their feet all day.
For the nurses who work the night shift. For the truckers who drive for hours and the farmers who feed us. For the veterans who served our country. For the small business owners who took a risk. For everyone who's ever been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out.
I'm not running for some Americans, but for all Americans. Our country's challenges didn't begin with the Great Recession and they won't end with the recovery.
For decades, Americans have been buffeted by powerful currents. Advances in technology and the rise of global trade have created whole new areas of economic activity and opened new markets for our exports, but they have also displaced jobs and undercut wages for millions of Americans.
The financial industry and many multi-national corporations have created huge wealth for a few by focusing too much on short-term profit and too little on long-term value, too much on complex trading schemes and stock buybacks, too little on investments in new businesses, jobs, and fair compensation.
Our political system is so paralyzed by gridlock and dysfunction that most Americans have lost confidence that anything can actually get done. And they've lost trust in the ability of both government and big business to change course.
Now, we can blame historic forces beyond our control for some of this, but the choices we've made as a nation, leaders and citizens alike, have also played a big role.
Our next President must work with Congress and every other willing partner across our entire country. And I will do just that -- to turn the tide so these currents start working for us more than against us.
[12:05:07] At our best, that's what Americans do. We're problem solvers, not deniers. We don't hide from change, we harness it. But we can't do that if we go back to the top-down economic policies that failed us before.
Americans have come too far to see our progress ripped away. Now, there may be some new voices in the presidential Republican choir, but they're all singing the same old song. A song called "Yesterday."
You know the one -- all our troubles look as though they're here to stay and we need a place to hide away. They believe in yesterday and you're lucky I didn't try singing that, too, I'll tell you!
These Republicans trip over themselves promising lower taxes for the wealthy and fewer rules for the biggest corporations without regard for how that will make income inequality even worse. We've heard this tune before and we know how it turns out.
Ask many of these candidates about climate change, one of the defining threats of our time and they'll say, "I'm not a scientist." Well, then, why don't they start listening to those who are?
They pledge to wipe out tough rules on Wall Street, rather than rein in the banks that are still too risky, courting future failures. In a case that can only be considered mass amnesia.
They want to take away health insurance from more than 16 million Americans without offering any credible alternative. They shame and blame women, rather than respect our right to make our own reproductive health decisions.
They want to put immigrants, who work hard and pay taxes, at risk of deportation and they turn their backs on gay people who love each other. Fundamentally, they reject what it takes to build an inclusive economy. It takes an inclusive society. What I once called "a village" that has a place for everyone.
Now, my values and a lifetime of experiences have given me a different vision for America. I believe that success isn't measured by how much the wealthiest Americans have, but by how many children climb out of poverty.
How many start-ups and small businesses open and thrive. How many young people go to college without drowning in debt? How many people find a good job? How many families get ahead and stay ahead. I didn't learn this from politics. I learned it from my own family. My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one.
Her own parents abandoned her, and by 14 she was out on her own, working as a housemaid. Years later, when I was old enough to understand, I asked what kept her going.
You know what her answer was? Something very simple, kindness from someone who believed she mattered. The 1st grade teacher who saw she had nothing to eat at lunch and, without embarrassing her, brought extra food to share.
[12:10:10] The woman whose house she cleaned letting her go to high school so long as her work got done. That was a bargain she leapt to accept and, because some people believed in her, she believed in me.
That's why I believe with all my heart in America and in the potential of every American, to meet every challenge, to be resilient no matter what the world throws at you, to solve the toughest problems. I believe we can do all these things because I've seen it happen.
As a young girl, I signed up at my Methodist Church to babysit the children of Mexican farmworkers, while their parents worked in the fields on the weekends. And later, as a law student, I advocated for Congress to require better working and living conditions for farm workers whose children deserved better opportunities.
My first job out of law school was for the Children's Defense Fund. I walked door-to-door to find out how many children with disabilities couldn't go to school, and to help build the case for a law guaranteeing them access to education.
As a leader of the Legal Services Corporation, I defended the right of poor people to have a lawyer. And I saw lives changed because an abusive marriage ended or an illegal eviction stopped.
In Arkansas, I supervised law students who represented clients in courts and prisons, organized scholarships for single parents going to college, led efforts for better schools and health care, and personally knew the people whose lives were improved.
As Senator, I had the honor of representing brave firefighters, police officers, EMTs, construction workers, and volunteers who ran toward danger on 9/11 and stayed there, becoming sick themselves. It took years of effort, but Congress finally approved the health care they needed.
There are so many faces and stories that I carry with me of people who gave their best and then needed help themselves. Just weeks ago, I met another person like that, a single mom juggling a job and classes at community college, while raising three kids.
She doesn't expect anything to come easy. But she did ask me, what more can be done so it isn't quite so hard for families like hers? I want to be her champion and your champion. If you'll give me the chance, I'll wage and win Four Fights for you. The first is to make the economy work for everyday Americans, not just those at the top.
To make the middle class mean something again, with rising incomes and broader horizons and to give the poor a chance to work their way into it. The middle class needs more growth and more fairness. Growth and fairness go together. For lasting prosperity, you can't have one without the other.
Is this possible in today's world? I believe it is or I wouldn't be standing here. Do I think it will be easy? Of course, not. But, here's the good news, there are allies for change everywhere who know we can't stand by while inequality increases, wages stagnate, and the promise of America dims. We should welcome the support of all Americans who want to go forward together with us.
[12:15:02] There are public officials who know Americans need a better deal. Business leaders who want higher pay for employees, equal pay for women and no discrimination against the LGBT community either.
There are leaders of finance who want less short-term trading and more long-term investing. There are union leaders who are investing their own pension funds in putting people to work to build tomorrow's economy. We need everyone to come to the table and work with us.
In the coming weeks, I'll propose specific policies to reward businesses who invest in long term value rather than the quick buck because that leads to higher growth for the economy, higher wages for workers, and yes, bigger profits, everybody will have a better time.
I will rewrite the tax code so it rewards hard work and investments here at home, not quick trades or stashing profits overseas. I will give new incentives to companies that give their employees a fair share of the profits their hard work earns.
We will unleash a new generation of entrepreneurs and small business owners by providing tax relief, cutting red tape, and making it easier to get a small business loan.
We will restore America to the cutting edge of innovation, science, and research by increasing both public and private investments. And we will make America the clean energy superpower of the 21st Century.
Developing renewable power, wind, solar, advanced biofuels, building cleaner power plants, smarter electric grids, greener buildings, using additional fees and royalties from fossil fuel extraction to protect the environment and ease the transition for distressed communities to a more diverse and sustainable economic future from coal country to Indian country, from small towns in the Mississippi Delta to the Rio Grande Valley to our inner cities, we have to help our fellow Americans.
Now, this will create millions of jobs and countless new businesses, and enable America to lead the global fight against climate change. We will also connect workers to their jobs and businesses. Customers will have a better chance to actually get where they need and get what they desire with roads, railways, bridges, airports, ports, and broadband brought up to global standards for the 21st Century.
We will establish an infrastructure bank and sell bonds to pay for some of these improvements. Now, building an economy for tomorrow also requires investing in our most important asset, our people, beginning with our youngest.
That's why I will propose that we make preschool and quality childcare available to every child in America. And I want you to remember this, because to me, this is absolutely the most-compelling argument why we should do this.
Research tells us how much early learning in the first five years of life can impact lifelong success. In fact, 80 percent of your brain is developed by age three.
One thing I've learned is that talent is universal -- you can find it anywhere, but opportunity is not. Too many of our kids never have the chance to learn and thrive as they should and as we need them to.
Our country won't be competitive or fair if we don't help more families give their kids the best possible start in life.
[12:20:02] So let's staff our primary and secondary schools with teachers who are second to none in the world, and receive the respect they deserve for sparking the love of learning in every child.
Let's make college affordable and available to all and lift the crushing burden of student debt. Let's provide lifelong learning for workers to gain or improve skills the economy requires, setting up many more Americans for success.
Now, the second fight is to strengthen America's families, because when our families are strong, America is strong. And today's families face new and unique pressures. Parents need more support and flexibility to do their job at work and at home. I believe you should have the right to earn paid sick days. I believe
you should receive your work schedule with enough notice to arrange childcare or take college courses to get ahead.
I believe you should look forward to retirement with confidence, not anxiety. That you should have the peace of mind that your health care will be there when you need it, without breaking the bank.
I believe we should offer paid family leave so no one has to choose between keeping a paycheck and caring for a new baby or a sick relative. And it is way past time to end the outrage of so many women still earning less than men on the job and women of color often making even less.
This isn't a women's issue. It's a family issue. Just like raising the minimum wage is a family issue. Expanding childcare is a family issue. Declining marriage rates is a family issue. The unequal rates of incarceration is a family issue. Helping more people with an addiction or a mental health problem get help is a family issue. In America, every family should feel like they belong. So we should offer hard-working, law-abiding immigrant families a path to citizenship. Not second-class status and, we should ban discrimination against LGBT Americans and their families so they can live, learn, marry, and work just like everybody else.
You know, America's diversity, our openness, our devotion to human rights and freedom is what's drawn so many to our shores. What's inspired people all over the world, I know. I've seen it with my own eyes.
And these are also qualities that prepare us well for the demands of a world that is more interconnected than ever before. So we have a third fight to harness all of America's power, smarts, and values to maintain our leadership for peace, security, and prosperity.
No other country on Earth is better positioned to thrive in the 21st century. No other country is better equipped to meet traditional threats from countries like Russia, North Korea, and Iran - and to deal with the rise of new powers like China.
No other country is better prepared to meet emerging threats from cyber-attacks, transnational terror networks like ISIS, and diseases that spread across oceans and continents.
As your President, I'll do whatever it takes to keep Americans safe. And if you look over my left shoulder you can see the new World Trade Center soaring skyward.
[12:25:09] As a Senator from New York, I dedicated myself to getting our city and state the help we needed to recover. And as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I worked to maintain the best-trained, best-equipped, strongest military, ready for today's threats and tomorrow's.
And when our brave men and women come home from war or finish their service, I'll see to it that they get not just the thanks of a grateful nation, but the care and benefits they've earned.
I've stood up to adversaries like Putin and reinforced allies like Israel. I was in the Situation Room on the day we got Bin Laden. But, I know -- I know we have to be smart as well as strong.
Meeting today's global challenges requires every element of America's power, including skillful diplomacy, economic influence, and building partnerships to improve lives around the world with people, not just their governments.
There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there's a lot of good news out there too. I believe the future holds far more opportunities than threats if we exercise creative and confident leadership that enables us to shape global events rather than be shaped by them.
And we all know that in order to be strong in the world, we first have to be strong at home. That's why we have to win the fourth fight reforming our government and revitalizing our democracy so that it works for everyday Americans.
We have to stop the endless flow of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our elections, corrupting our political process, and drowning out the voices of our people.
We need Justices on the Supreme Court who will protect every citizen's right to vote, rather than every corporation's right to buy elections. If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment to undo the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United.
I want to make it easier for every citizen to vote. That's why I've proposed universal, automatic registration and expanded early voting. I'll fight back against Republican efforts to disempower and disenfranchise young people, poor people, people with disabilities, and people of color.
What part of democracy are they afraid of? But no matter how easy we make it to vote, we still have to give Americans something worth voting for. Government is never going to have all the answers, but it has to be smarter, simpler, more efficient, and a better partner.
That means access to advanced technology so government agencies can more effectively serve their customers, the American people. We need expertise and innovation from the private sector to help cut waste and streamline services.
There's so much that works in America. For every problem we face, someone somewhere in America is solving it. Silicon Valley cracked the code on sharing and scaling a while ago. Many states are pioneering new ways to deliver services. I want to help Washington catch up.
To do that, we need a political system that produces results by solving problems that hold us back, not one overwhelmed by extreme partisanship and inflexibility.
Now, I'll always seek common ground with friend and opponent alike. But I'll also stand my ground when I must. That's something I did as Senator and Secretary of State whether it was working with Republicans to expand health care for children and for our National Guard, or improve our foster care and adoption system, or pass a treaty to reduce the number of Russian nuclear warheads that could threaten our city. And it is something I will always do as your president.
We Americans may differ, dicker, stumble and fall. But we are at our best, when we pick each other up, when we have each others back. Like any family our American family is strongest when we cherish what we have in common and fight back against those who would drive us apart.
People all over the world have asked me, how could you and President Obama work together after you fought so hard against each other in that long campaign. Now that is an understandable question considering that in many places if you lose in election, you could get imprisoned or exiled even killed not hired as Secretary of State.
But President Obama, asked me to serve and I accepted because we both love our country.
That's how we do it America with that same spirit together we can win these fore fights. We can build an economy where hard work is rewarded. We can strengthen our families, we can defend our country and increase our opportunities all over the world and we can renew the promise of our democracy if we all do our part, in our families, in our businesses, unions, houses of worship, schools and yes in the voting booth.
I want you to join me in this effort, help me build this campaign and make it your own, talk to your friends, your family, your neighbors, text join J-O-I-N to 47246. Go to hillaryclinton.com and sign up to make calls and knock on doors.
It's no secret that we're going up against some pretty powerful forces that will do and spend whatever it takes to advance a very different vision for America. But I've spent my life fighting for children, families and our country and I'm not stopping now.
CROWD: (chanting) Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary, Hillary.
CLINTON: You know, I know how hard this job is. And I've seen it up close and personal. All our presidents come in office looking so vigorous. And then we watch their hair grow grayer and grayer. Well I may not be the youngest candidates in this race.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's OK.
CLINTON: But I will be the youngest woman president in the history of United States.
And the first grandmother as well.
And I want to just show advantage you won't see my hair turn white in the White House. I've been coloring it for years.
So I'm looking for a great debate among democrats, Republicans and independents. I'm not running to be president only for those Americans who already agree with me. I want to be president for all Americans. And along the way I'll just let you in on this little secret. I won't get everything right.
Lord knows I've made my share of mistakes, well there's not shortage of people pointing them out.
And I certainly haven't won every battle I've fought. But leadership means perseverance and hard choices. You have to push through the set backs and the disappointments and keep at it.
I think you know by now that I've been called many things by many people. Quitter is not one of them.
[12:35:12] Like so much else in my life I got this from my mother. When I was a girl she never let me back down for many bully or barrier. In her later years mom lived with us and she was still teaching me the same lessons. I'd come home from a hard day at the senate where the State Department sit down with her at the small table in our breakfast nook and just let everything pour out.
And she would remind me why we keep fighting. Even when the odds are long and the opposition is fierce. I can still hear her saying life is not about what happens to you, it's about what you do with what happens to you. So get back out there.
She lived to be 92 years old. And I often think about all the battles she witnessed over the course of the last century all the progress that was won because Americans refuse to give up or back down.
She was born on June 4th, 1919 before women in America have the right to vote. But on that very day after years of struggle congress passed the constitutional amendment that would change that for ever.
The story of America is a story of hard fought, hard-won progress and it continues today. New chapters are being written by man and women who believed that all of us not just some, but all. So you have the chance to live up to our God given potential. Not only because we're a tolerant country or a generous country or a compassionate country but because we're a better stronger, more prosperous country when we harness the talent, hard work and ingenuity of every single American.
I wish my mother could have been with us longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become a mother herself. I wish she could've met Charlotte. I wish she could have seen the America we're going to build together.
And America where if you do your part you rip the rewards, where we don't leave anyone out or anyone behind and America where a father can tell his daughter, "Yes, you can be anything you want to be even president of the United States."
Thank you all. God bless you. And then God bless America.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right Hillary Clinton there -- on Roosevelt Island. And her first big rally in what is now become her 10 week campaign.
Her daughter Chelsea Clinton there, Bill Clinton, they're joining her on stage.
And she said, you know, join me, text me even. She says she wants to be your champion. And she made references many times about her 92 year old mother. And her humble beginnings working as a child and domestic work, they can reference her grandfather and his work ethic.
And of coursing making reference to her husband, former president and having the longest peace time in history balancing the budget and then in an oath (ph) her former boss President Obama also saying that he saved the auto industry and he provided health care to millions. And then many jobs to the Republican field there, then now very crowded Republican field. And she called the Republican choir singing the same old song. Yesterday. Also kind of criticizing the Republican saying they want to take away health care to the 16 million. And they're continuing her view to shame women.
And she said they're also turning their backs on gay people who love each other.
She said she wants to continue what she's been doing her lifetime spending a lifetime fighting for children and family.
So a lot to chew on here with Hillary Clinton there in this large rally at Roosevelt Island.
We've got a lot of people joining us to kind of digest and help us all understand what just happened there.
Senior Political Correspondent Brianna Keilar is on Roosevelt Island. Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is in Marshalltown, Iowa. CNN Politics Reporter, Sara Murray is in Park City Utah.
Everyone bare with me we got a long list here.
[12:40:00] Political Commentator Hilary Rosen is in Rehoboth Beach Delaware. Political Commentator, Paul Begala in Washington. Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein in Los Angeles and Larry Sabato Director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia Charlottesville.
OK, we got a lot, a lot of people, a lot of voices, lots of points of view.
Brianna, let me begin with you. You're traveling with Hilary Clinton there. You gave us a prelude of what to expect and she hit all of that and some.
Why was this so important for her to not only define herself kind of how people relive her history as a law student, as a New York Senator, as first lady, and as secretary of state?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, she really wants people to focus, I think, on her and her standing alone, not just on Bill Clinton, who you see now exiting the stage.
And certainly, she's done a lot in her own right, especially since she ran for president last time. But while there are references to her husband administration, the people she really focused on, on this speech, President Obama embracing him, the Roosevelt's' as well and certainly her mom a lot. But this is Four Freedoms Park, which she harken back to by laying out her forfights, for the economy, for the strengthening communities and families and dealing with family issues, national security and also getting unaccountable money out of the political system.
You heard some of the big applause lines having to do with the economy. Hilary Clinton is framing herself very much as a populous in sort of the vain of the Roosevelt's.
A lot of people -- I will tell you the campaign believes very strongly that it's economic issues that are really going to motivate democratic and independent voters, from the applause here, I would say that's an accurate assessment.
She talked about a national security. And honestly, it didn't seem like anything that really got this crowd too riled up. They were more concern about equal pay and higher wages when she mentioned those items and also on social issues, like discrimination against gay Americans.
But I do want to mention that last thing that she talked about the unaccountable money. This is really the one, not the one, but an issue that could cause some problems for her, Fred, because there are hold lately this is a difficult spot for Hilary Clinton, something she needs to deal with, showing that a lot of Americans think that she's not trustworthy and honest. And part of that is certainly coming from all of this coverage of the Clinton Foundation, the donation that the Clinton foundation has gotten.
So that's something she'll need to address
But this is, after two months of economic campaign trail, her big kick off rally. And from here, she goes to early stages.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, let's talk more about this, perhaps, among those who may have gotten to know Hilary Clinton the best over the years, now Hilary Rosen and Paul Begala.
So I'm anxiously hearing from you all. You know, Paul, in particular while people thought that this would be a rally or her campaign with largely be about distinguishing herself as an independent. Independent from Bill Clinton, independent from the Obama Administration, she had a very big way talk about the relationship. And what she really is praising of those administrations and, you know, answering the question of what people asked for all of the time.
How is it that you and President Obama could work together when you were adversaries on the campaign trail, how you were contenders, but now you're contemporaries? And her words, quite simply, she says, "Because we both love country."
Why is this important for her to establish right off the bat in your view, Paul?
PAUL BEGALA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well because -- First of all, I think it's honest. She actually likes the president. She served him and that I think served him well.
The second it is strategic, right. You don't want to be running away from him. It would be a disaster I think, to served in the Obama Administration as his secretary of state and then run away and say, "Well, I didn't barely knew the guy." I think that's wise. Now, she also said, harkening back to Roosevelt and her husband and President Obama, that this is not 1941 or 1993 or 2009. She is her own person.
And the thing struck the most so, Fred, was this is very personal, for Hilary. She doesn't like that. Believe me. I don't know, 24 years, she's not a person who wears her heart on her sleeve the way her husband does.
Though she talked about her about her mother, she never used to do that when I work for President Clinton in 90s. She never talked about...
WHITFIELD: So why did this seem that it came so easy if this has been so difficult for her over the years, is it a reflection of, "I want this job really badly," or does it say something about the evolution of Hilary Clinton in your view?
BEGALA: Yeah. You know, she lost her mother. And I think that change a lot. And I think it caused her to reflect on how far her mom would come and how much her mother had met her, just like any of us who lost our parent or grandparent.
I think that those two events in her personal life gaining a grandchild, losing her mother, I think that has really opened her heart more she's just not a politician who likes her emotions being out there on display.
[12:45:06] I got to tell you, I know she has the same last name as her husband. But her personality as a candidate is very different.
So I'd love to see her open up more. And that's the real Hilary I've known, for a four century.
WHITFIELD: So Hilary Rosen, we really did see on stage there very compassionate Hilary Clinton, right? I mean as an extension of what Paul is saying there, she talks so much about what she wants to do for families, what she wants to do for law abiding immigrant families, what she wants to do to make sure that all kids have an opportunity from pre-school to college.
HILARY ROSEN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, two things struck me about the speech in addition to what Paul said. One was that there was a lot of a policy meet in there. You know, for days, the aides (ph) have been downplaying how much policy to expect in the speech, I now suspect that that was before Hilary Clinton got a hold of the draft because we all know at her heart she actually is kind of policy wonk, and she wanted people to know what she thought about the major issues were facing today.
And then the second thing, I think, was at the end, where she said, "I'm not going to always get it right. I'm done in making mistakes. Lord knows I've made them before." And, you know, I thought that that was kind of a signal to everybody which is, "This is a long campaign, you can fix stuff apart, but I am not a quitter. I'm going to stay in there. My mom didn't raise me to be a quitter." And I thought that that connecting the sort of political issues she is facing now with where she gets her grip is something that's really important for people to know.
WHITFIELD: Ron Brownstein, did she in anyway kind of change the game, particularly Jeb Bush, who is going to make it official next week. There was a lot of criticism, right, from Republicans who said, "She's not talking issues." And just as Hilary just underscored she talked issues, she talked ideas.
Is Jeb Bush and, you know, and his team, are they now kind of readdressing that speech that he is to make on Tuesday? Are they now kind of rethinking how much he needs to reveal about ideas, about...
RON BROWNSTEIN, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR NATIONAL JOURNAL: Now, look, I think -- excuse me, Fred. I think she refrained. She certainly put -- gave Republicans a strong indication of where the frame is going to be on this race.
As Hilary said she gave us more policy than we expected. She also spoke more directly about gender than she did in 2008.
But above all, this speech was designed to send to identifier as someone who would fight for the middle class because she was a product of the middle class.
Most younger Americans have only known Hilary Clinton in a series of very powerful positions, First Lady, Senator from New York, Secretary of State.
I think the biggest question she has -- like the hurdle she has to get over is convincing people that she understands the way they live today, and a solutions relevance to their problems.
And the way she tried to do that today was by saying, "Look, I have lived this experience and that's why I will fight so hard for you." And by the way, that is very similar to the message that I -- kind of Bill Clinton delivered at his 1992, except the speech, in a speech that was heavily influenced by someone named Begala, I think.
It was a very similar kind of framing. I will fight for you because I have walked in your shoes, and I think that's what we saw from Hilary Clinton today.
WHITFIELD: Larry Sabato, what do you see on display here?
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Probably, it was a positive launched. It was certainly comprehensive. I counted more than 35 specific topics and proposals in this rather long address.
So I think she did answer the critiques as far as policy was concerned.
What struck me most, she's framing the campaign as a candidate should in this kind of launch as a fight for the middle class, and you can never lose basing the campaign on fighting for the middle class because 80 percent of Americans claimed to be in the middle class.
And then, of course, gender as she pointed out a number of times, she can provide a spotlight on gender issues that no other candidate can.
And obviously, she would be the first woman president, if elected.
WHITFIELD: And Jeff Zeleny, she made reference to equal pay several times for women. She made reference several times for the end of discrimination to the LGBT community.
How significant is that? I mean it must speak to her journey upcoming that she would make reference particularly to those issues several times.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well sure, Fredricka. Those are very safe issues at this point to make reference too, in this 2012 campaign, but it really speaks to how far the democratic electorate.
And in fact, the nation has moved since 2007 and 2008. Don't forget she and others and she and Barack Obama were not supportive of gay marriage at that point. So that's how far this electorate has shifted.
I was struck by the fact that she is now free to embrace all of those things, you know, really the sign of the cross of the Obama coalition. She went right through every liberal sort of a point here.
This is not the Bill Clinton campaign of 1992 going down to the center, trying to win over some red states. She is trying to double down on winning the Obama states, if you will, the Obama coalition.
[12:50:09] But I have to say, Fredricka, I was struck by, as Hillary mentioned earlier, for humor and humility at the end.
That's not something we saw a lot from her in 2008. But that is something that people said that they like the most about her and those private settings, when she said, I won't get everything right, I've been called many things, but quitter is not one of them.
That will be the anthem of her campaign and that's what democrats want to hear from, we heard some specific of course. But I think its things like that, that people are really going to a lot onto that's what democrats want to hear.
WHITFIELD: Was there a feeling that perhaps with in her camp, there was a push and, you know, that she would show that kind of humor that she would be self deprecating because in many ways it's rather disarming.
ZELENY: Sure I think in some respect the shackles are off of her everyone learns something from running for president the second time. So she is trying to do this her own way. And I think that, you know, in 2007, 2008 she was guided by the whole different team of strategist. I think now this is sort of more (inaudible) on things here. But the real question is here, is the enthusiasm going to be out there for democrats, I'm going to watch party here in Iowa.
And Fredericka, only six people which includes one staff are actually at it, maybe people who are watching at home I'm not sure. But if this one party we picked randomly, only six people were inside watching it, here in Marshalltown, Iowa.
WHITFIELD: Oh that's funny #hillaryhouseparty, so what were people saying at that watch party, I mean not the one person who is with her campaign, but the other just ordinary folks.
What are they saying about what they saw, heard felt?
ZELENY: Look they're excited about her candidacy in fact they want to see and hear more from her. And of course she is flying to Iowa after she finishes her rally there. She'll be at a party tonight in Sioux Iowa and then for big first Iowa rally tomorrow. But democrats want to hear specifics. And she's not out here alone I can tell you Senator Bernie Sanders is also on having the day of activities out here. And he is drawing a hundreds and hundreds of people to his events here, so she has a bit of a competition, she wants - democrats want her to show that she will fight for this nomination here. So in short Fred, they just want to hear more and see more from her.
WHITFIELD: Ah, interesting. OK, will those images of that house party or watch party, I don't know, looking kind of pitiful not really very exciting and mysterious (ph). But it was happening nonetheless and like you said, maybe a lot of people were kind of watching at home. And I guess exuded their sentiments in different ways Jeff.
All right, so let's go to Sara Murray, because Sara you are in Utah at a Mitt Romney event, I going to laugh because of course, you know, many people were kind of paying the picture of what her advocates or seeing in her speech.
She made some direct references to her competitors, her Republican competitors, she said that, you know, they're singing the same song, this Republican choir of yesteryear and yesterday. So what was the response there particularly as Jeb Bush is about, you know, officially announced his campaign on Monday next week.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: So clearly this is a very different event that what you're saying Hillary Clinton today. What this is, is essentially a moment for half a dozen Republican presidential candidates to mingle with donors
You helps Mitt Romney raise money and try to lock him in on their campaign. But the thing that donors really want to see, if they want to see someone who can win. And so what we heard from these candidates over this weekend were a lot of sharp words for Hillary Clinton.
I saw Marco Rubio trying to make this generational contrast of Hillary Clinton. Ohio Governor John Kasich was very clear that you can't takedown Hillary Clinton just by attacking the Clinton's you need to bring someone with a record to go up against her. And this morning we heard from Carly Fiorina who offered the very
interesting contrast to Hillary. She is another woman who's up against her. And she made a sort of dubious claim today that she has more foreign policy experience than anyone else in the Republican field. And she's met with nearly as many foreign leaders as Hillary Clinton has. So it's sort of interesting to see all of these Republicans lined up to different ways.
They plan to take on Hillary Clinton going forward.
WHITFIELD: All right, so Paul Begala, Hilary, I want to bring you back in the conversation Ron Brownstein.
In any way do you believe that the campaign trail is now changing, the trajectory of the campaign trail, whether be Democrats, Republican has change now, because the way which she has rolled out, this large campaign rally, specially the time where she began with such intimacy kind of small meeting get to know people and now she is saying "Oh, I am really officially in, in a very big way Hilary you first on that.
ROSEN: We'll that's what she did this rally today, because she has been campaigning mostly just to deal with the early state, she, you know, entered this racing, she's not taking the democratic primary for granted and that means, Iowa and what do you do to win in Iowa, you go to small meetings, you don't hold big rallies, you don't hold big events, because these people want intimacy that means New Hampshire where you're having policy discussions behind close doors.
[12:55:10] So they knew at the campaign that there was clamoring in the country for sort of this bigger picture of Hillary's candidacy. That's what today was intended to do.
I think we're going to see her over the next couple of months kind of go back to that more intimate campaigning because that what is required in those early states.
Yes, she's going to come out with some policy pronouncements, speeches, those might be big moments. But for the most part her time is going to be spent doing the kind of campaigning that's required to win that democratic runner.
WHITFIELD: Larry Sabato are you back with us as well. How do you see it?
SABATO: Yes I can. Look the enthusiasm of the campaign is what's important. Nobody ever believes the statistic but it's absolutely true over 90 percent of the votes for 2016 are already locked in. We lived in a highly partisan age.
And the real key for Hillary Clinton and the eventual Republican nominee and I'm assuming Hillary Clinton gets the democratic nomination is energizing and enthusiasm -- and inducing the party activist and the party voters. And think, you know, her launch did some of that certainly the issues that she brought up there. And I'm sure she'll flush them out more as time as goes on. WHITFIELD: OK. Hey with us right now, Hillary Clinton's press secretary is there on Roosevelt Island and he's now stepped in front of a camera Brian Fallon with us.
Hey Brian.
BRIAN FALLON, CLINTON CAMPAIGN PRESS SECRETARY: Hi how are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing great. So give us an idea, you know, how difficult was this for Hillary Clinton to be so personal to show the kind of humor we saw to be so self deprecating, to reveal so much more about her family history, her family struggles. Was this something that was her idea or was this something that you and other and her campaign, really had to urge her to do. Was it a big risk for her to take?
FALLON: Not at all. Not at all, she wrote this speech herself. He had some assistance from a (inaudible) Chief Speechwriter Dan Schwerin. But she wrote this speech herself Fredericka. And this was very personal.
I think she want to and let the American people know what was motivating her to take on this fight. And it entered this race at this moment in her career. And she was very clear about that race. She believe that it's a middle class everyday American that help rebuild this economy and get us back from the recession from 2008.
But they haven't yet been able to enjoy all the rewards of that recovery and that's what this fight is going to be about through his spoken very personal terms about how, in terms the light story of her mother and what inspired her to realize that every person need a champion, maybe assistance of friends and neighbors to help make it.
And that's what's she in this fight for. And I think you also heard her not just be personal but the quite substantive and layout a strong, bold, progressive agenda that she will kill in over the coming weeks.
She talked about college affordability, paid leave, Wall Street reforms. And then the coming weeks almost set of pays (ph) have once every week or 10 days. I think you're going to hear rollout to specific policies on each of those issues.
WHITFIELD: And Brian, I know it's a party scene there. We love that's it's, you know, #hillaryhouseparty, you know, in a real reference to this rally today and the music is loud. So I'm going to have to ask you, is we're going to try and pump up your volume. But you're going to -- I'm going to have to ask you to talk a little louder too.
So talk to me about, you know, who -- yeah talk to me about who she's trying to reach because she made several references about equal pay for women, she get several references about ending discrimination in the LGBT community. I mean this is a real concerted effort to reach certain body of the electorate. She talked about, you know, trying to create a pathway for illegal immigrant families. But those who are law-abiding, how high up on this list of her to do list is this?
FALLON: So I would answer a little differently actually Fredericka.
WHITFIELD: Yeah.
FALLON: I did put the policy list and the priorities that she outlined. I think what they speak too is a recognition of the changing makeup of the American family, you know, and on issues like LGBT equality, the importance of immigrations, the importance of equal pay, these are not issues that speak to "Democratic voters." These are mainstream issues that the American public is squarely on the side of.
And I think it's more of a commentary on out of touch the Republican field is that these are still controversies in 2015.
WHITFIELD: OK, so Brian as I let you go this is a prelude to how we will see Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail much larger settings will there be a return to the smaller settings that we saw in the first 10 weeks of her campaign.
FALLON: You're going to see a mix of -- in terms of the style of a man (ph). But certainly it will be a larger event in Iowa tomorrow.
[13:00:01] You know, we have a lot of enthusiasm right now that will watch party for the speech all across the country tonight. Hillary Clinton will actually be dialing in to in organizing meeting in Iowa. She'll be there in person participating.
