Clinton talks Hoosier issues as spotlight on Indiana grows

by Dustin Grove (grove@wsbt.com)

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Sen. Hillary Clinton at Mishawaka High School

Sen. Hillary Clinton gives Patty Strevinger a hug during her speech at Mishawaka High School Friday morning. At right is Bruce Schweizer, a Hummer employee and graduate of South Bend's Washington High School, which got a laugh from the crowd. (Tribune Photo/JIM RIDER)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Mar 28, 2008 at 4:29 PM EST

Story Updated: Mar 28, 2008 at 7:01 PM EST

MISHAWAKA — The race for the White House included a stop in Mishawaka Friday and a town hall meeting with presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Clinton.

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For the first time in 40 years, Indiana matters when it comes to the presidential primary, and this week it showed. First it was a stop by former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea, and then Friday the senator herself.

At Mishawaka High School Friday, the stage was set, the crowd in place, and excitement everywhere for a kind of rally this community hasn't seen in decades.

"It's definitely a great opportunity whether you're a Republican or Democrat,” said

Locked in a fierce fight for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton was once again in Indiana.

This may be her first visit to Mishawaka, but by Saturday, Clinton, her husband, and their daughter Chelsea will have made 22 stops in 17 Hoosier cities — unprecedented for a presidential primary here.

And when it comes to the issues important to local voters, she knew exactly who she was talking to.

"This is about jobs, jobs, and jobs,” she told the crowd. “This is about the middle class and what kind of chances we're going to provide.”

The name of her tour is “Solutions for the American Economy.”

"When I look at this state, I don't see a rust belt; I see the potential to build a 21st century manufacturing belt,” she said.

She told the crowd of 4,000 the key to bringing back jobs involves a manufacturing agenda, but also a commitment to different kinds of jobs entirely.

"Jobs that would have to be done right here in Indiana. What kind of jobs? Well, jobs in solar and wind, in geothermal and bio-fuels, in clean coal,” she explained. “There is so much we can do if we get serious about it the way we were about the space race and sending a man to the moon and bringing him back safely.”

But is the Clinton campaign making headway in the Hoosier state?

Rodney Williams is a first-time voter.

"I'm still undecided,” he told WSBT News. “Yeah … still undecided.”

Which means, here, the senator still has some work to do.

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