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TwitThisOn Domestic Issues
RD: Okay. First question, you discussed a number of domestic issues that are important to you, today.
MRS. HILLARY CLINTON: Mm-hmm.
RD: But in order to try to get a sense of priorities, let me ask, what would the first 100 days of the Clinton Administration look like?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, it depends upon what I inherit. If our troops are still bogged down in a civil war in Iraq, I will summon my Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs and my security advisors to begin the process of getting our troops out of that civil war.
I will also commence a very robust diplomatic effort, not only with respect to Iraq, but on so many of the issues that have been neglected and frankly, gotten quite dangerous over the last six and half, by then, eight years. Because I think it's important for a new president to send a message that we want to start building partnerships and alliances again. That, yes, we do have real threats and we will take whatever measures are necessary to protect America and our allies, but that we want to get back to the bipartisan foreign policy approach that worked so well for America for so long.
Here at home, I will be working very hard to partner with the Congress on healthcare that will be affordable and accessible and guaranteed for every American, an energy policy that will get us on the right track to not only wean us from our increasing dependence on foreign oil, but combat global warming and put millions of Americans to work by being innovative and creative, acting like Americans again. And, of course, I have another, you know, long list of domestic priorities but, you know, these are several things that I would work on as soon as I got there.
RD: And obviously, to accomplish a lot of these, it would be very helpful not to have the polarized environment that we have now. Current president said he would be a uniter, not a divider, hasn't worked out that way. Could you be a uniter and how would you go about that?
MRS. CLINTON: Well, in fact, I have been. You know, when I got to the Senate, a lot of people were curious about what I would do there, to say the least. And my view is when you're given a position of trust, as I was, being a Senator from New York or certainly as president that I want to find common ground. I want to bring people together. I think there's so much work for our country to do. Polarization has driven politics, because it's worked. In fact, with Karl Rove retiring, there are a lot of articles being written about how he elevated polarization to a winning political theory, but it wasn't good for the country and we have to move away from that.
Now, obviously, where we can find common ground, I will more than reach out and look for ways to do that. I want republicans in my cabinet. I want republicans in my government. I want, you know, the voices of, you know, positive policies from foreign policy to domestic. New ideas, creative approaches from, you know, the private and the public sector to be considered when I'm president. And where we have to stand our ground, as I did on the issue against privatizing social security, I will do that.
I think America works better when we set some big goals. Part of the reason that the polarization took hold in the last six and a half years is that the goals were divisive. You know, tax cuts for the very wealthy and a war in Iraq that wasn't paid for and wasn't executed effectively, by their very nature will polarize people. I think we're better when we look for ways that, you know, nearly every American can feel that he or she is part of our society and making progress, that the American dream is real. So that's what I'll intend to do.
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