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WASHINGTON
— Seconds into HIllary Clinton’s remarks at a fundraiser for women in
Washington, she was greeted with a silent protest by one of the few men
in attendance — who stood on his chair to unfurl a huge black banner
reading “Obliterate Iran? Apologize” in bold pink lettering.
Clinton told “Good Morning America”
a day before the Pennsylvania primary that the US would react strongly
if Iran ever launched a nuclear attack on Israel, saying “we would be
able to totally obliterate them.” That
As one woman fought the lone protester for his sign and the crowd
began to boo, Clinton silently waited it out — until finally the man
was escorted from the room by security amid chants of “Hillary!
Hillary!”
“I certainly hope he didn’t step on any of the cookies,” Clinton said.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Just a few minutes later, Code Pink
co-founder Medea Benjamin stood up near the front of the room and began
shouting about the children in Iran and Iraq, and demanding that
Clinton apologize for her “obliterate” comment and her Iraq vote. This
time, as Benjamin was escorted out holding up two-fingered peace signs,
Clinton acknowledged the protest.
“That’s alright,” she said. “I’m happy that people feel so intensely. And I hope they paid to come.”
But she took umbrage at press reports suggesting that only Barack
Obama’s supporters feel so strongly about their candidate. “There seems
to be a lot of coverage about how passionate the supporters of my
opponent are,” she said. “I think I’ve got some pretty passionate
supporters myself.”
She credited those supporters for keeping her in the race. “We’ve
been voting now for about four months. It seems like four years, but
it’s only been four months,” she said. “I’ve been counted out more than
once, but thanks to all of you, I’ve come back.”
“When I was counted out in New Hampshire, it was the women of New
Hampshire who came back and said no, she’s not finished yet. When I was
counted out before Super Tuesday, it was women from California to
Massachusetts who came and said no we’re not finished yet. When I was
counted out before Ohio, before Indiana, we have always come back.”
“I am in this race, I am staying in this race, because I believe
that I would be the best president and that I’m a stronger candidate
against John McCain,” she said to applause. Smiling, she added “do you
know how difficult it is for women to stand up and say we are the best
at anything?”
“Too many people have fought too hard to see a woman continue in
this race,” Clinton continued, seeking to allay the fears of those who
believe the protracted race is hurting the party. “There is no cause
for alarm. Sometimes you’ve got to calm people down a little bit.”
“We have plenty of time to make the case against Senator McCain,”
she said. “I landed in New Hampshire on a Thursday night down 9 points,
and I won on Tuesday. You can turn elections in a day.”
Finally, Clinton hinted at a new approach to getting the delegations
from Florida and Michigan seated at the Democratic National Convention,
saying “I will be sending a letter to Senator Obama and to chairman
Dean expressing my strong belief that this issue about the voters in
Florida and Michigan is a civil rights issue. It is a voting rights
issue. And we need to stand up and say the Democratic party is smart
enough to figure out how to make sure we don’t disenfranchise two
states we have to win when it comes to the November election.”
Clinton raised a much-needed million dollars at this sold out event.
Of the 1,500 people who paid $250 and up to see Senator Clinton here at
the Omni Shoreham hotel, fewer than 100 were men. | 
