|
Soldier4Christ
|
 |
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2008, 02:31:03 PM » |
|
Hillary says tears were turning point
But female questioner says Obama made her cry, and she voted for him
Sen. Hillary Clinton today pointed to her emotional display at a New Hampshire diner as a key moment that helped propel her to an unexpected victory last night following Sen. Barack Obama's resounding win in Iowa.
As WND reported, Sen. Clinton fought back tears Monday as she responded to a question about the hardships of the campaign trail.
Today, after defeating Obama with 39 percent of the New Hampshire vote to his 36 percent, she described it as a "wonderful moment" that enabled voters to "get a sense of why I do what I do."
"I'm really glad I had a chance to say what I believe in my heart," Clinton told CNN. "People realized the reason I do this is I love this country so profoundly. When the cameras turn off and the speeches are done, what have we actually done to improve people's lives."
On Monday, her eyes began to glisten as she talked about her commitment to the campaign.
"It's not easy, it's not easy, and I couldn't do it if I just didn't passionately believe it was the right thing to do," Clinton said.
"I have so many opportunities from this country. I just don't want to see us fall backwards," she said as her voice broke.
Polling place interviews showed the female vote – which deserted the former first lady when she finished third in last week's Iowa caucuses – was solidly in her New Hampshire column.
However, the woman who asked the question Monday, Marianne Pernold, told Baltimore's WMAL radio this morning she voted for Obama. Pernold explained to talk host Chris Core she had attended one of the Illinois senator's rallies Friday, and his stirring speech brought her to tears.
Pernold said the Clinton campaign invited her to the event in Portsmouth, a special gathering of 20 to 30 women at a coffee shop. The campaign got her name, she said, through her friendship with New Hampshire Speaker of the House Terie Norelli.
Pernold insisted her question was not scripted.
"I think there were all these questions being asked on issues, and my question was the last one, and I think it totally caught her offguard, because it was an intimate, caring question," Pernold said.
Did she think Clinton was sincere?
"Absolutely, absolutely," she told the radio host. "I don't think you can fake emotions like that."
But Pernold said she was emotionally smitten by Obama at a rally days before the primary.
"I was in tears, he moved me to tears, and he offered a fresh hope a new beginning and a new life and vibrancy," she said.
In contrast, Pernold continued, "Hillary has been in that political arena for so long, and I really admire her, I respect her totally. I think she's a phenomenal woman. ... "
Pernold hesitated at that point, then continued explaining why she went with Obama.
"The first 10 seconds of the interview were very genuine and very heartfelt and very one-on-one as a woman, and then when she turned away from me, she adopted that political stance again," Pernold said.
Clinton won handily among registered Democrats in New Hampshire, while Obama won over independents by an even larger margin.
"I come tonight with a very full heart and I want especially to thank New Hampshire," Clinton told a crowd of supporters at her campaign headquarters in Manchester last night. "Over the last week I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice.
"I felt like we all spoke from our hearts, and I'm so glad that you responded. Now together let's give America the kind of comeback that New Hampshire has just given me."
Obama said he was "still all fired up" and would continue to fight.
"For most of this campaign we were far behind," he said. "We always knew that our climb would be steep. ... With your voices and your votes you made it clear that at this moment, in this election, there is something happening in America."
Before the New Hampshire results came in, former President Bill Clinton tried to lower expectations for his wife, arguing the New Hampshire primary was scheduled too close to the Iowa Caucuses.
"It takes some time to undo that; for people to say, 'Well, this is our race in our state and we're going to think about this and give all these candidates a free shot,'" he said. "If this were 10 days after Iowa, instead of five, I believe we would have no doubt about what the outcome would be."
The Clinton campaign mobilized some 300 drivers; more than 6,000 volunteers to knock on doors.
|
