Hillary Clinton on the Stump in Houston

Sen. Clinton stumps in Houston, praises Katrina outreach

By KRISTEN MACK

Houston Chronicle

March 17, 2007, 6:00PM


Unlike other presidential contenders making the rounds in Houston, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton headlined events open to the public today in addition to collecting cash from high-dollar contributors behind closed doors.

Clinton made two campaign stops in the Fifth and Third Wards — at a breakfast event hosted by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and a conference at Wesley A.M.E. Church — before attending a fundraiser at Tony's Restaurant.

Clinton was the last of the frontrunners from each party to make her way to Houston. This was her first stop in Texas since she announced forming a presidential exploratory committee.

Her message to crowds at both public events was the same. At the church, however, she changed her tone and inflection and made several references to God.

"We have to set some goals in our country again," she said. "We already spend more money than any other country in the world, just not in the right place."

Universal health coverage, early childhood education and affordable college tuition topped her list of domestic priorities.

"We have work to do, not just at home, but around the world," she said. "It's important other parts of the world look at America, not with fear, but respect and admiration."

Clinton supports comprehensive immigration reform, creating a path to citizenship by requiring immigrants to "pay fines, learn English and wait in line."

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Hillary Clinton Praises Houston for Taking in Refugees from Katrina Disaster

Clinton Praises Houston for Katrina Aid

By RASHA MADKOUR

The Associated Press
Saturday, March 17, 2007; 8:28 PM

HOUSTON -- Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton praised residents of Houston on Saturday for their help in responding to Hurricane Katrina and said that if elected she would lead a more competent government than the Bush administration.

"We have to have leadership again that asks us to step up and show the world who Americans are and what we can do," Clinton said during her first visit to Texas since announcing her candidacy. She met with supporters at a breakfast before speaking at the Wesley African Methodist Episcopal Church.

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Hillary Clinton Raising Money in Texas: San Antonio Fundraiser

Hillary Clinton in San Antonio

Web Posted: 03/16/2007 10:59 PM CDT

Greg Jefferson
Express-News Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will stop here today to raise money for her presidential bid, and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is to follow Monday with the same aim.

To the surprise — maybe consternation, if they're Clinton supporters — of some San Antonio Democrats, former Mayor Henry Cisneros announced his endorsement of Richardson in a letter to drive donors to his fundraiser.

Cisneros served as secretary of Housing and Urban Development in former President Clinton's first term, and has maintained ties with the couple.

But Cisneros said he's been a friend and supporter of Richardson since he first campaigned for a New Mexico congressional seat, and that he has to support a Hispanic leader trying to make it to the White House.

In his letter, he sang Richardson's praises, noting his stints as U.S. ambassador to the United Nation and as energy secretary.

The fundraiser is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the Plaza Club.

"I'm very proud of the fact that he's the first Latino to be running for president," Cisneros said in a phone message, left in response to a reporter's call. "He therefore deserves the support of those of us who have argued that this day will come. I am very loyal to President Clinton, obviously, and to Hillary. But I have explained to both of them, in person, my support for Gov. Richardson at this stage in the contest."

With the start of the Democratic primaries looming in January, Richardson is far behind Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama in most polls.

"My hope is that he will do well, and at least emerge at the level of a serious vice presidential contender all the way up to the (2008 Democratic National Convention)," Cisneros said.

County Judge Nelson Wolff believes Richardson would make a strong running mate — for Clinton.

Wolff is endorsing the New York senator and is part of the host committee for her afternoon fundraiser at the home of trial lawyer Pat Maloney Jr.

Maloney said he got to know the Clintons during their swings through San Antonio working on Democrat George McGovern's 1972 campaign against President Nixon.

Wolff met Sen. Clinton when he was San Antonio's mayor and she was lining up support for her husband's 1992 presidential campaign. Cisneros, he said, introduced them.

"I'm impressed with her tenacity and toughness, and she's in the middle — that's where the country needs to be," Wolff said.

Hillary Clinton Raising Money in Texas

March 16, 2007, 3:57AM

Clinton comes to Texas amid fundraising sweepstakes

By BETH FOUHY Associated Press Writer
© 2007 The Associated Press

NEW YORK — The first deadline in the presidential money primary holds promise and pitfalls for Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Locked in a high-profile fight with charismatic rival Barack Obama, Clinton's initial fundraising report will be a test of her strength as the party's front-runner.

Raise millions more than Obama and another chief rival, John Edwards, and the perception that she is the party's inevitable nominee will solidify. A less-than-decisive edge will lend credence to the view that the nomination is truly up for grabs.

The Clinton, Obama and Edwards campaigns have been trying to outfox one another in the expectations game. Each campaign has set a low bar for itself while predicting big numbers for the competition.

Clinton heads to Texas on Friday, where she will attend four events in four cities over two days. She's expected at fundraising events Friday night in Austin and on Saturday in Houston, San Antonio and McAllen.

Clinton had a clear advantage over her rivals before anyone even established an exploratory committee. Not only could she transfer $11 million from her Senate account, she could tap those same donors for her presidential bid.

Publicly, the Clinton campaign has declared a goal of $15 million, an amount campaign experts expect her to easily double when candidates report their totals for the first quarter ending March 31. After all, she has help from the man once called the fundraiser in chief — former President Clinton.

Clinton's husband will join her at major fundraisers in New York on Sunday and Washington two days later. The former president has been the featured guest at a series of exclusive lunches and dinners, where attendees are asked to pony up $4,600 — the maximum allowable contribution — to his wife's campaign.

Hassan Nemazee, a New York financier and longtime Clinton fundraiser, hosted a dinner for about 100 guests Tuesday night with Bill Clinton the marquee attraction. People dined on beet salad and steak at Manhattan's swank Cipriani restaurant, and Clinton stayed past 11:30 p.m.

The event pulled in $500,000 for his wife's campaign.

"I couldn't raise the money for Hillary if people didn't think she was the best candidate and will be the nominee and the president," Nemazee said. "But does it hurt that she has the best fundraiser in the Democratic Party as her surrogate? Not at all."

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Hillary Clinton in Texas: March 16 Fundraiser

Hillary Clinton to make campaign stop in Austin

3/6/2007 11:45 AM

By: News 8 Austin Staff

Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York, will make a presidential campaign stop in Austin to attend a fundraiser on March 16.

It will be at the Lake Austin home of prominent fundraisers Roy and Mary Spence. Seats start at $500 and go up to $4,600.

Clinton's visit comes on the heels of Sen. Barak Obama's recent stop, which also included a rally.

At this point of the presidential race, Clinton and Obama are considered by many within the Democratic party to be main contenders for the nation's top job.