Chelsea Clinton campaigns for mother at ASU (Video)
Sarah Morris
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: News
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"It's typically between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and just seeing one of the advocates for Hillary Clinton, which is Chelsea - her daughter, will hopefully help me as a young voter make a smart decision on who I would consider for the Democratic nomination," Ikemba Balogu, a junior business management major of Pine Bluff, said.
Chelsea, 27, said she hoped to make the campaign accessible to her generation and spoke on why voters should turn out Feb. 5 to vote for her mother.
"I'm here because I do think this is the most important election in my lifetime and I do love and support my mother, and I do believe she will be the best president for our nation," Chelsea said. "Anything I could do to make her my president, I will do."
The majority of the time was spent with Chelsea fielding questions from the audience on her mother's stances on universal healthcare, No Child Left Behind and veteran healthcare. There was no mention of the two other Democratic hopefuls, except in a vague reference in the supporting of universal healthcare.
The topics showed the growing importance of them to voters, such as students like Brad Hughes, a sophomore forensic science major of Springfield, Mo. Hughes said there were many issues like the economy, healthcare for students and education in general that would shape the way he voted in the upcoming presidential election.
It is Hughes' first election to vote in, and he hasn't decided what party he is actually for. "I just wanted to come and hear Chelsea talk about her mom's campaign."
Universal healthcare was also an important topic for Terri Rogers, a junior criminology major of Memphis. "Being an African American, a lot of people do not have healthcare, or can't afford healthcare," Rogers said. "I believe if everybody has healthcare, it will help out the community because a lot of people cannot afford to go get help."
Clinton supports universal healthcare for all Americans, though Chelsea says everyone does not have to accept the healthcare if they are satisfied with their own policies or do not want to switch. Americans would be able to buy into healthcare plans currently provided to Congress and federal employees.
Chelsea said students should also be covered by healthcare and not have to make the choice between having healthcare or going to school and military veterans needed to be better taken care of. Changes that needed to be made include adjusting the amount of funds going towards Veterans' Affairs, better community-based programs and making traumatic head syndrome a priority.
Chelsea cited traumatic head syndrome as the leading cause of injuries in the war in Iraq and said the campaign would like to see more researching in the effects and treatment of the syndrome. Another symptom of the war was that more Vietnam veterans were being treated with Post Traumatic Stress due to the images they were seeing from the war in Iraq.
She went on to add that changes were needed in the No Child Left.
"We don't want to tell our students who are making progress that they are failing or teachers that are so afraid to fail that they are only teaching to the test," Chelsea said.
While most questions asked were based on her mother's political stances, there were a few personal questions as well, such as Chelsea's own political aspirations - which only includes campaigning for her mother - and her views on the benefits of a woman president. And Chelsea reminded voters, "I don't think you should vote for her because she's a woman, but because she is the best candidate."
"It has made me more informative by giving me a thorough foundation on which I can make a better decision," Balogu, who is also minoring in political science, said after the event. "I think that is my primary goal for the most important democratic nomination in my generation."
Dr. Robert Potts said the university received word around noon Saturday of the opportunity for Chelsea to speak at ASU from Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, co-chairman for the Hillary Clinton campaign and a Jonesboro resident.
"I think if we have an opportunity, we need to seize it because it brings positive view for the campus," Chancellor Potts said. "We should be a welcoming place for the candidates and their surrogates. It exposes our students to democracy at its very best."
Early voting begins Tuesday for the presidential primary, Feb. 5, and students such as Hughes encourages other students to vote.
"I think everybody should have a say and voice their opinion," Hughes said. "One person might not have that influence, but I think it's important to get out and support what one believes in."
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