Troops out of Iraq gets biggest cheer from Capital High crowd
The crowd at Capital High School in Charleston on Wednesday quickly let Sen. Hillary Clinton know what they wanted from her: Bring the troops home from Iraq.
The crowd at Capital High School in Charleston on Wednesday quickly let Sen. Hillary Clinton know what they wanted from her: Bring the troops home from Iraq.
"I know it has to be done carefully," the New York Democrat told a mixed group of high school students, state politicos and those simply interested in hearing one of the major presidential candidates.
Clinton talked about the war in Iraq, health-care concerns and clean coal technology during her stop in Charleston.
She noted the words of presumed Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that troops could be stationed in Iraq for the next 99 years. That will not happen under her administration, she promised.
"The Iraqis have not done what the Iraqis should have done to secure their own future," she said.
Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are locked in a tight primary election contest that has finally come to West Virginia. The state's May 13 election date usually assures that both major political parties have already selected their nominees prior to the Mountain State voting.
Gov. Joe Manchin introduced the candidate, noting it is the first major presidential primary contest in the state since 1960.
"What an exciting time it is for the United States of America and what an exciting time it is for West Virginia," the governor said.
Clinton was headed for Huntington for a meeting with a veterans group. She said taking care of veterans is a top priority, and one the Bush administration has failed to accomplish.
"First of all we've got to fully fund the Veterans Administration," she said. "Too many of our young vets are coming back and not getting the services they need."
She noted a backlog of disability claims, along with many homeless veterans and others not being able to find jobs.
"So we need to update the GI bill which worked so well for previous generations," she said. "We've got to have more resources so that you can help people get the job training they need, make the transition back to civilian life, be able to afford a home, maybe even start a small business."
She also called for spending more for veterans' health care, as she is now convinced that traumatic brain injury - which she called "the signature injury of these wars" - is directly related to the post-traumatic stress disorder that has been a problem for soldiers for generations.
"I really believe that," she said, while spending a short time in an interview with the Gazette following her appearance.
She noted the suicide bombs "literally shake up" soldiers' brains, much like the reaction of babies who have suffered shaken baby syndrome.
"Certainly there is an emotional component to it, but there is a physical component to it, also," she said, "because you can literally see the loss of memory, the increase in anxiety and depression."
She called for the federal government to fund new research.
With nearly 50 percent of the nation's energy being produced from coal, Clinton said West Virginians and members of the United Mine Workers of America deserve a president who will advocate clean coal research.
"I've been advocating for 10 big demonstration projects - and obviously one of them should be here in West Virginia - to figure out how we're going to accomplish [carbon dioxide] sequestration," she said.
While she believes the technology will work, she readily admitted, "I'm no expert, but until we try, how are we going to know?"
The crowd at Capital High School in Charleston on Wednesday quickly let Sen. Hillary Clinton know what they wanted from her: Bring the troops home from Iraq.
"I know it has to be done carefully," the New York Democrat told a mixed group of high school students, state politicos and those simply interested in hearing one of the major presidential candidates.
She noted the words of presumed Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that troops could be stationed in Iraq for the next 99 years. That will not happen under her administration, she promised.
"The Iraqis have not done what the Iraqis should have done to secure their own future," she said.
Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are locked in a tight primary election contest that has finally come to West Virginia. The state's May 13 election date usually assures that both major political parties have already selected their nominees prior to the Mountain State voting.
Gov. Joe Manchin introduced the candidate, noting it is the first major presidential primary contest in the state since 1960.
"What an exciting time it is for the United States of America and what an exciting time it is for West Virginia," the governor said.
Clinton was headed for Huntington for a meeting with a veterans group. She said taking care of veterans is a top priority, and one the Bush administration has failed to accomplish.
"First of all we've got to fully fund the Veterans Administration," she said. "Too many of our young vets are coming back and not getting the services they need."
She noted a backlog of disability claims, along with many homeless veterans and others not being able to find jobs.
"So we need to update the GI bill which worked so well for previous generations," she said. "We've got to have more resources so that you can help people get the job training they need, make the transition back to civilian life, be able to afford a home, maybe even start a small business."
She also called for spending more for veterans' health care, as she is now convinced that traumatic brain injury - which she called "the signature injury of these wars" - is directly related to the post-traumatic stress disorder that has been a problem for soldiers for generations.
"I really believe that," she said, while spending a short time in an interview with the Gazette following her appearance.
She noted the suicide bombs "literally shake up" soldiers' brains, much like the reaction of babies who have suffered shaken baby syndrome.
"Certainly there is an emotional component to it, but there is a physical component to it, also," she said, "because you can literally see the loss of memory, the increase in anxiety and depression."
She called for the federal government to fund new research.
With nearly 50 percent of the nation's energy being produced from coal, Clinton said West Virginians and members of the United Mine Workers of America deserve a president who will advocate clean coal research.
"I've been advocating for 10 big demonstration projects - and obviously one of them should be here in West Virginia - to figure out how we're going to accomplish [carbon dioxide] sequestration," she said.
While she believes the technology will work, she readily admitted, "I'm no expert, but until we try, how are we going to know?"
She was critical of the Bush administration for "dragging its feet and being unwilling to make the investments we should in trying to figure out how we're going to accelerate clean coal technology."
In continuing to promote her health-care plan, Clinton noted her time working in Arkansas and how similar it is to West Virginia.
"When I was in Arkansas, I headed up a task force to bring health care into rural Arkansas because we've got two big problems: How do people afford it and then how do they get access to the services they need even if they can afford it," she said. "So we've got to do both. And I think my plan will do both."
She called for more financial support for rural hospitals, putting more clinics in rural areas and "coming up with plans to attract doctors and nurses, particularly advanced-practice nurses. We're going to have to do all of that."
She called the lack of healthcare for many in the nation "a moral problem" as well as medical.
"If everybody is insured, we all will certainly end up saving money," she said.
Clinton told the crowd from the beginning that she wanted to answer their questions and not give a speech. While the war in Iraq got the loudest cheers, she touched on a number of issues.
With the nation now deeply mired in an economic recession, Clinton said a new leader will "begin to reverse" policies that led to it.
"Unless we pay as much attention to Main Street as Wall Street we're never going to solve it," she said.
She warned of soaring college costs, saying, "We're shutting the doors to college to a lot of the middle class" and others.
Oil cost $20 a barrel when George Bush took office in 2001. Now it's well over $100, she noted.
To help, Clinton said, she would release some oil the federal government stores for emergency purposes "to drive these prices down."
She noted other nations subsidize their major industries and called for helping the automobile industry, plus possibly changing some sources of fuel.
"The internal combustion engine hasn't changed much since the Model-T," she said.
And she promised West Virginians will be seeing her again because the state's primary election "is really going to put West Virginia on the map of the world."
"We want this primary to involve as many people as possible," she said.
Sen. Obama is scheduled to make campaign appearances in Charleston and Beckley today. His Charleston appearance will be at 11 a.m. at the University of Charleston.
To contact staff writer Tom Searls, use e-mail or call 348-5198.
Obama visit
Sen. Barack Obama will hold a discussion on the Iraq war today at 11 a.m. at the University of Charleston. Doors open at 9:30 a.m. The event is free, but tickets are required. Call (304) 266-0376 for tickets.
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Video highlights of Clinton's visit to Charleston
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