Clinton addresses students
Meg Miller and Saira Haider, CT news staff
Saturday, February 9; 11:50 PM
Former President Bill Clinton spoke in War Memorial gym tonight on behalf of his wife, democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Shaozhuo Cui/SPPSFormer President Bill Clinton, spoke at War Memorial on February 9, 2008.Related: Photo Gallery Video
After privately meeting with the families and victims of April 16, Clinton spoke on health care, education, energy and the economy.
"Hillary's vision of America, you're looking right at it," Clinton said.
Bill Clinton claimed that Sen. Hillary Clinton had the most aggressive policy on global warming. He said that Hillary wanted to make every building as energy efficient as possible and the way to achieve that would be to pay off the global warming loan with all of the money saved using her proposed methods.
"A fundamental problem in this economy is that it's not producing jobs, and energy-efficient countries are the ones who are prospering," said Clinton.
The rally, sponsored by Tech's Young Democrats chapter, was one of a series of "Solutions for America" events. Young Democrats president Jessi Schmale said that the Young Democrats are a non-endorsement organization.
Clinton provoked approving laughs from the crowd when he said that there is one thing that Hillary is more conservative on than Bush -- the budget.
Clinton said another one of the items on Hillary's agenda is to withdraw troops from Iraq, citing three primary reasons: The first reason is that the longer the country stays, the longer the Iraqi people will delay to build up their own government. He also said that the U.S. simply does not have enough troops to keep operations going. His last reason was that the U.S. have almost broken the American military.
When Clinton spoke on Hillary's health care policy, he said that the U.S. has to "get the politics out and the research money into science again."
Speaking on rising tuition costs of higher education, Clinton said Hillary "strongly favors making college affordable to everyone." He said one of Hillary's proposals would be to not charge more than a percentage of your income for higher education.
He also spoke about equal education concerning the No Child Left Behind Act.
Clinton said Hillary "has the right vision, she has the right plans; she is a world-class change maker … ."
Some students enjoyed Clinton's speech.
"I wish it was four more years for Bill Clinton," said Rohan Mathur, senior industrial systems engineering major. "In a way, if she's in office (his policies) will come back in."
Other students appreciated his honesty.
"I thought he was very honest about the amount of money going into certain things," said Candice Coates, senior psychology major.
Clinton's visit comes just three days before the Virginia state primary. She and her chief rival, Barack Obama, are still in a close fight for the Democratic presidential nomination after Super Tuesday failed to establish a dominant front-runner in the Democratic race.
Hillary's campaign trail will take her to Roanoke tomorrow, where she is scheduled to speak at Patrick Henry High School at 4:30 p.m. Barack Obama will be in Roanoke on Monday to speak in a town meeting at 7:30 a.m. in the Jefferson Center.
Posted by: Jason T at Feb 12
John Cash, others have already shown you the error of blaming Steger for the Bill Clinton event. Now I will do the same regarding April 16. Had that incident occurred at any other school around the country, we could expect a similar result. Is this truly because of presidential incompetence? If so, how is it that so many of our universities are run by these terrible wastes of space? That's quite a bit more than just a "good ol' boys" club. The fact is that most universities would have been equally unprepared to handle such an improbable scenario. Only after the shootings occurred did other universities begin employing emergency alert systems, but even they won't stop this from happening again. The blood of 32 people is on Cho's hands, not Steger's. However, if a similar tragedy were to happen again on his watch, and it could have been avoided by taking reasonable measures after the last incident, then blame away. As it stands, most school shootings are over when the shooter kills himself in anticipation of police arrival, or in a few cases, when an armed civilian is able to shoot the shooter.
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Posted by: TG at Feb 11
I agree on that note. The Young Dems should have been the one to set up the appropriate accommodations if they brought him in.
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Posted by: Kyle Minor at Feb 11
Well, I mean, it's possible that I could be wrong. It happens every now and again ;) In all honesty, though, since this wasn't a university sponsored event, it really wasn't Steger's responsibility to provide BC a 'warm welcome' and the finest accomodations. It was an event run entirely by the Young Dems. That was really the point of my response.
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Posted by: TG at Feb 11
Hmmmm, are you sure that he is liberal? The CT has done stories in the past showing which parties/candidates VT staff/admin support and I remember seeing Steger associated with the Republican party. Yeah, I knew I saw this somewhere: http://www.collegiatetimes.com/news/1/ARTICLE/7957/2006-11-07.html
$1,000 to George Allen... yeah, he's not staunchly liberal. And that was in 2006 so I don't think his political affiliation has changed since then.
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Posted by: Kyle Minor at Feb 11
John Cash, are you kidding me? Clinton wasn't a university-sponsored speaker; he was brought in by the Young Dems. The responsibility for planning and accomodations falls with them. If you think Steger is Conservatively biased, you need to go back and look at some of the things he's said and some of the causes he's supported. . . he is actually fairly staunchly liberal.
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Posted by: Hokie4evr at Feb 11
Random, Bill Clinton was on campus??!
"Not only does Steger have the blood of 32 people he failed on his hands, but now he has a national embarrassment on his hands."
Wow, John that's quite an accusation.
And national embarrassment? I haven't seen anything in the news about Bill's accommodations, or lack thereof. I didn't even know he was in Blacksburg until I came to the CT's website.
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Posted by: John Cash at Feb 11
I also was very disappointed with the accommodations President Steger and the VT administration made available for the former President of the United States. One would hope Steger could put his conservative bias aside in respect for one of our nation's leaders, and make sure that the best venue was made available. Apparently not. Not only does Steger have the blood of 32 people he failed on his hands, but now he has a national embarrassment on his hands. Why do we continue to pay this man that continues to fail us? Must be the American system of 'old boys' at the top, not accountable to anyone, able to constantly fail, and still get a check from the tax payers. Steger - resign.
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Posted by: at Feb 11
Barack the Vote!!!
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Posted by: Kyle Minor at Feb 11
My goodness, jacksmith, that's an awful lot of partisan conspiracies you allege. Those evil Republicans, cramming themselves into the Democratic caucuses to support Obama! Never mind that, in many states, such caucusing is wholly legal. Never mind that, also, Obama's voting record is quite a bit more liberal than Hillary's own record, and for that matter many conservatives are torn over which candidate presents the greater threat to conservatism. Never mind the long waits for subpar care in countries with universal healthcare (Canada and the UK come to mind, most notably). Never mind that the law prevents hospitals from turning away people who require emergency medical care, even if they are unable to pay for it. If you are going to make these accusations, jacksmith, you need to come back with some data rather than blanket accusations regarding the "republican vote fraud machine."
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Posted by: jacksmith at Feb 11
Bottom Line:
It looks like you got some vote fraud hankypanky, and selling of votes going on in the democratic caucuses. Obama seems to be doing disproportionately well in the caucuses where it is easier to commit vote fraud, and sell votes. Obama has not been doing as well in the non caucus primary's where you can't cheat the vote as easily.
I smell a pole cat. I smell the Karl Rove vote fraud machine at work. This looks like past presidential elections where most voters leaving the poles said they voted for the other guy. But Bush still won. No wonder Obama thinks the republicans have some good ideas. Apparently a lot of republicans are voting for Obama in the democratic caucuses.
The insurance companies, and medical industry that have been ripping you off, and killing you are determined to keep you, the American people from having good universal health care. So it seems they are supporting Obama. Along with the republican vote fraud machine.
This looks like a great story for a team of aggressive investigative reporters. Or maybe some good documentary film makers like Michael Moore, or Oliver Stone.
If I were the Clinton's, I would focus like a laser bean on what has been going on in the democratic caucuses. No wonder the Republicans like Obama so much. Looks like he's their man in the democratic caucuses.
I'm absolutely convinced now that Hillary Clinton is your best choice for good universal health care coverage. And HR 676 (Medicare For All). "Single payer, Tax Supported, Not For Profit, True Universal Health Care" free for all as a right. Like every other developed country in the world has. See: http://www.house.gov/conyers/news_hr676.htm
“HR 676:
For church goers: less money to insur. companies and more to the church- lots more.
Srs on Medicare: save way over $100/wk. Because no more medigap, long term care & dental insur. needed. No more drug bills.”
They really think you are all stupid, inattentive cash cows... It may be time to bring back Bad Bill.
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Posted by: bill clinton at Feb 11
i did not have....oh shit nvm
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Posted by: Jason T at Feb 10
Hans, just so you know, Clinton claimed a $10 billion surplus only as a result of presenting a "unified budget" which included $95 billion that was supposed to be used for the Social Security trust. In short, comparing Clinton's budget to those before and after it is to compare apples to oranges. Had he not appealed to tax revenue that was meant for the Social Security fund, there would have actually been an $85 billion deficit. http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5936
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Posted by: Hans at Feb 10
As far as I know, Bill is the only president in turn a huge deficit around into surplus for a long time, and the only successfuly democrat president for a long time. If you look carefully, even the accomplishment of JFK is not as good as Bill's even though JFK more loved (news! JFK had affair too). Republican hated Bill because of his success, because Bill's re-election make it less convinient for them to put conservative judges into supreme court. Other Clinton haters are victims been misled by the biased media. Get informed and think what's best for the future of the country.
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Posted by: Nathan at Feb 10
"A fundamental problem in this economy is that it's not producing jobs, and energy-efficient countries are the ones who are prospering."
Haha, yeah, China and India sure are amazing when it comes to energy efficiency and green production, Bill. Maybe the lack of growth has to do with a ridiculous tax system that punishes success and drives businesses and manufacturers overseas.
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Posted by: MC at Feb 10
From the comments - sounds like this event was as poorly organized and managed as Hillary's campaign.
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Posted by: MC at Feb 10
Somewhat ironic that Mr. Clinton says the current administration has almost broken the military - the sorry state of our military today has more than a little to do with the massive cutbacks he made in the 90s.
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Posted by: Kimay at Feb 10
thank you Peter for presenting the facts!
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Posted by: Bill at Feb 10
It takes a lot of skill to copy and paste from other websites. Google tells all.
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Posted by: Linda at Feb 10
The Clintons' Multi-Million Dollar Dubai Conflict-of-Interest
By Tom Fitton
FrontPageMagazine.com | Wednesday, January 30, 2008
In the most recent Democratic presidential debate in South Carolina, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama threw off their gloves and attacked each other for their suspicious and scandalous ties. And you know what? They were both right!
Here’s a story this week that makes my point with respect to Hillary:
According to the Wall Street Journal: “Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle. Mr. Clinton is negotiating to end his relationship with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. as part of a broader effort to protect the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, from potential conflicts of interest.”
It’s a little late to worry about conflicts of interest, don’t you think?
Hillary has served in the Senate during Bill Clinton’s tenure with Yucaipa, which began in 2002, all the while in a position to vote on issues that could impact Burkle’s (and, through Bill, Hillary’s) empire. Bill Clinton voiced no concern about a potential conflict of interest when he was handed a large stake in Yucaipa with no risk and very little work required. Now he can just collect the checks.
Moreover, this $20 million payoff does nothing to eliminate the conflict of interest. In fact, it makes it worse. Presumably, since Hillary Clinton shares a bank account with former President Clinton, they can use the money to fund her candidacy for president, if she so chooses. Overall, Burkle has contributed large amounts of cash to the Clintons’ campaigns, their legal defense fund, and to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. The question is, and has always been, what will Ron Burkle get in return for his generosity to the Clintons? Especially if Hillary wins the presidency.
Now Obama, for his part, was slammed for ties to indicted political fundraiser Antoin “Tony” Rezko, or as Hillary called him, “a slumlord.”
(By the way, a photo surfaced recently that suggests Hillary may have her own Rezko scandal to worry about. Check it out here.)
So the Clintons reap millions as a result of partnering with a foreign government These are troubling times for those of us concerned about pubic corruption.
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Posted by: Matt at Feb 10
What a bunch of whiners. I had a great time last night! Thanks for all the work that was put into getting Bill to come speak. With 24 hours notice the Young Democrats did a great job. It takes a lot of work to get the Virginia Tech police, Swat team, Virginia Tech Rescue, Secret Service, and the University to put on an event like this.
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Posted by: Richard at Feb 10
This even was horrendous. I mean, lets sign this piece of paper to gain entry. This piece of paper was a supporting Hillary Clinton. Hmm, maybe not the best idea ever if you want to attract votes there Hillary.
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Posted by: jonathan at Feb 10
No, I agree it was poorly organized. They said it was "first come, first served," but the line to get in was split up between the actual gym and the satellite gym. They should have just let everybody who could fit go into the first gym. There were people behind me who got to the see the speech, while I didn't get to see Bill at all - not fair. They also told us that his speech would be televised on CCTV, but I guess that never happened.
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Posted by: Jason T at Feb 10
The CT reported Clinton's visit as "breaking news" yesterday. Isn't it possible that this is something that, for whatever reason, couldn't have been planned better? Way to condemn people's efforts when you don't even know the constraints that they were working with.
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Posted by: Mark Gransen at Feb 10
I was outraged with how the event was organized. What were they thinking when they decided to have a second with only an empty door and a microphone to look at? Did they think we were going to be satisfied by that? DId they really think that Clinton would make up for the poorly planned event. I'm astounded by the lack of planning by anyone involved by the event. Absolutely awful!!!!
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