Story Created:
Mar 20, 2008 at 2:44 PM EDT
Story Updated:
Mar 20, 2008 at 2:44 PM EDT
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton began a swing across Indiana Thursday with a late-morning stop at restaurant, answering questions about the economy, Iraq and health care, three main points she has stressed during her campaign for president.
The New York senator arrived to cheers from dozens of supporters who packed the Saratoga Diner. Hundreds more filled the sidewalks outside before she arrived for the first of three stops planned in the state.
She and Democratic colleague Sen. Evan Bayh sat at a table with several residents, talking with them about their concerns. Bayh, who comes from a small town near Terre Haute, has been mentioned prominently as a possible running mate should Clinton win the nomination.
She said the country's middle class had suffered under President Bush, with the average Indiana family's income declining more than $2,000 since he took office.
"We're not standing up for people who work hard every single day, whether they're making cars or making pharmaceuticals or they're making some other product here," Clinton said. "It's not the same world where we can just work harder and harder and harder and get ahead. We have to be smarter and our government has to be a partner with our companies and our workers."
Clinton will also speak at an afternoon town hall meeting in Anderson and finish up at a rally in Evansville.
Clinton's trip comes days after a town hall meeting in Plainfield Saturday by her opponent, Barack Obama.
Voters will likely see plenty of both during the seven weeks leading up to the May 6 primary that will determine the candidates' share of the state's 72 delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
; "Click for WSBT StormTracker")
