After months of speculation about her political future, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton opened her campaign yesterday: the Senate one, that is.þþMrs. Clinton, running for re-election in New York with a huge war chest and minimal opposition from the Republicans, celebrated her endorsement by two firefighters' unions at a ceremony that was an implicit kickoff to her Senate race. þþShe has held numerous political fund-raisers and often deflects questions about her plans for a 2008 presidential race by saying she is merely running to keep her current seat, but until yesterday Mrs. Clinton had not made the sort of purely political appearances typical of a political race. þþStanding with a group of union leaders in front of a firehouse in Brooklyn, she listened intently as two union presidents praised her success in obtaining federal funds for firefighters, for the city's security operations and for health research related to the Sept. 11 attacks, which killed 343 firefighters, drove others into retirement and left many complaining of debilitating long-term illnesses. þþThe endorsements were particularly significant for Mrs. Clinton, since neither union supported her 2000 candidacy for the Senate and city firefighters jeered her during a 9/11 benefit concert at Madison Square Garden.þþÿIt is a great honor for me to have their support now,ÿ Mrs. Clinton said, after introductions by Steve Cassidy, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association, and Peter L. Gorman, president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association. She hailed the firefighters as ÿthe bravest people that have ever served any city.ÿþþRather than stand with a phalanx of uniformed firefighters, a tableau that has become closely associated with the Sept. 11 attack, Mrs. Clinton chose to make a modest, almost quiet, appearance with about a dozen or so union officials in front of Ladder Company 157 on Flatbush Avenue. The only audience members were hastily alerted reporters and camera crews, clustered on an empty sidewalk, instead of the crush of star-struck voters that often crowd her announced events.þþAfter making some comments and accepting a bright blue firefighters' windbreaker from the unions, Mrs. Clinton answered several questions from the reporters. After leaving, she stopped at Junior's restaurant for coffee, aides said.þþHowever low-key her tone, Mrs. Clinton's political aims were significant.þþIn showing off the firefighters' support, she added to the evidence that her popularity has grown among voters who were skeptical of her before. Highlighting her support among such once-hostile constituencies could enhance her chances of convincing voters that she could win a presidential election, should she decide to run. So far, statewide polls show her with a much wider edge in this year's race than the 12 percentage-point margin she had in the 2000 election. þþIn that race, both the firefighters' unions endorsed her Republican rival, Rick A. Lazio. In moving their support to the Democratic nominee before the Republican contestant has been decided — John Spencer, the former mayor of Yonkers, and Kathleen Troia McFarland, a Pentagon official in the Reagan administration, are still vying for that — the firefighters gave another push to a Clinton campaign that is widely viewed as laying the groundwork for a presidential bid, despite her claims to the contrary. þþMrs. Clinton has raised more than $6 million this year and has about $20 million on hand; any donations that she does not spend on the Senate race can be rolled into another federal account like a presidential campaign.þþÿI'm running for re-election, and I'm doing the best I can to represent the people of New York,ÿ Mrs. Clinton said when asked the inevitable question about her future political ambitions. ÿI have no plans other than running for re-election.ÿ Beyond that, Mrs. Clinton declined to address the politics of 2008. þþIn response to a question, she also refused to join the call for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who is under increasing criticism from Democrats and generals for his handling of the war in Iraq. Mrs. Clinton, who voted to authorize funds for the war and has stood by that vote ever since, did say Mr. Rumsfeld's continued service reflected badly on President Bush.þþÿWe have a lot of disagreements about the way this war has been waged and the costs of it,ÿ she said, adding that some military decisions, like sending only a limited number of troops and disbanding the Iraqi army, ÿdefy understanding.ÿ þþÿBut the reasons for the decisions lie with the people in charge, and that's the president, the vice president and the secretary of defense,ÿ she said, adding that many firefighters are now members of the National Guard and Reserves or have completed military service. ÿI think we deserve better answers, but it's up to the president to decide policy, and decide if he wants to enforce it.ÿþþ
Source: NY Times
