8:30AM. Anticipation amongst a crowd of thousands of students, Fresno City Council members, school board members, Fresno County Supervisors, and supporters gathered around the steps of Fresno High School to hear Hillary Clinton’s speech about “change”.
The morning began with speeches by the MC Cynthia Sterling, the first African-American woman ever elected to the Fresno City Council; Dolores Huerta, a veteran in the civil rights movement during the Cesar Chavez Era and member of the United Farm Workers of America; Blong Xiong, first Asian-American elect council member in Fresno and California; and lastly, Assemblyman Juan Arambula, organizer for the event and supporter of Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
“I think the Central Valley gets overlooked a lot” Arambula stated, “I think that whoever wins the 2008 election must be aware of the needs of the region and keep Fresno in mind.”
Arambula addressed many of the issues surrounding the valley which include high unemployment and poverty rates, lowest per capita income, highest drop out rate among high school students, and lowest ratio of doctors per patient within the healthcare system.
“We really need someone with desire, passion, and experience” he concluded, “and that is Hillary Clinton.”
Sterling added, “No American will be invisible in the U.S.”. Hillary Clinton posters swayed through the chilly morning air.
9:30A.M. The last time Fresno saw this large of a crowd for a presidential candidate was back in 1968 with Senator Robert Kennedy. However, the morning crowd of presidential hopeful, Hillary Clinton, was the largest in the history of Fresno; over 5,000 people were present. The crowd grew louder. It was evident that Hillary Clinton had arrived.
Thousands of supporters cheered as Clinton shook the hands of the many representatives from around the district and Fresno County. Candidly, she made her position very clear, “I want to be your president to get you what you need.”
Hillary Clinton spoke about the four main goals she wishes to achieve as the next president of the United States which include: restoring America’s leadership in the world, rebuilding a strong and prosperous middle class, reforming the present government, and lastly, reclaiming the future of children.
Among the many issues Clinton raised, healthcare was among one of the highlights. According to recent statistics, approximately 47 million Americans are without any form of healthcare. However, American’s are paying trillions of dollars for healthcare plans that many do not have access to. Reasons for the lack of healthcare include high cost and little coverage. Clinton’s healthcare initiative would provide quality and affordable healthcare for every American. She proposed “The American Health Choices Plan” which would give healthcare recipients a choice of over 250 providers by which can be attained through an employer or any other privately funded venue. By providing more options and modernizing the healthcare system, every American would have the healthcare access that they deserve.
Another issue raised by Clinton was the education system. Statistics show that 75% of students that attend public and private universities come from parents whose income is in the top 25%. According to Clinton, this number must be changed, thus the community college and cal state college systems must be strengthened with more skilled training programs. Moreover, she vowed to fix the “No Child Left Behind Act” and the “Dream Act” expanding the opportunities available to students in pursuit of an education.
Clinton’s proposal is to build a “government that works for everyone.” In doing so, she plans on ending the war in Iraq. She believes that the troops have accomplished everything they were set out to do, including ending Saddam Hussein’s regime, and establishing a form of democracy among the Iraqi people. She believes that “there is no military solution” for the problems that continue to face the Iraqi people and that they should be free to make decisions about their future without American intervention.
The last of Clinton’s issues rested on the preservation of the environment and the nations natural resources. She advocates the spending of millions of dollars towards finding new ways to create renewable energy and clean air. She suggested the installation of solar panels and alternatives for oil by which she plans on stripping tax subsidies away from oil companies to be used for other beneficiary causes essential to the environment.
Clinton ended her 30 minute speech by sharing a few stories of the people that touch her most- including women in their 90’s who have lived through the dramatic historical changes and roles that women have embarked upon; from earning their right to vote, to attaining a fair access to an education, and holding political offices. “I am going to live long enough to see a woman in the white house” they tell Hillary.
Secondly, the parents who take their children to campaigns to listen to her speak, and while turning to their children say, “See honey, you can be anything you want to be if you put your mind to it”.
Clinton asserted that it “would be a thrill to be the first woman President of the United States” but assures that she is not running because she is a woman, but because she is “qualified.”
“We have to turn the page and come back to being Americans” she stated. By doing so, American leadership would be restored, and the problems, threats and difficulties present around the world will slowly begin to diminish, because the United States is a good and great nation” she concluded.
