New York senator and Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton was the keynote speaker at the Ohio Democratic Party state dinner in Columbus Saturday night. More than 3,000 people were there and gave her an enthusiastic welcome.
One of the most passionate portions of the evening came before Senator Clinton took the stage. Democratic Congresswoman from Cleveland, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, gave her colleague a powerful introduction.
"Join me in welcoming to the stage the next president of the United States of America, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton! Ohio, Hillary is Ohio!"
Sen. Clinton was the star of the evening, delivering a well-crafted speech perfectly tailored to the audience.
"Hello Ohio Democrats," Mrs. Clinton said. "What an extraordinary gathering tonight to celebrate the victories of '06 and to look forward to continuing Ohio's march in leading the country back on the right track in '08!"
Sen. Clinton hit most of the hot-button issues in a speech lasting about 30 minutes. She discussed jobs and labor, education, and energy independence. She was soft-spoken at times; other times fiery, pledging to end the war in Iraq.
"We are looking for a way to end this war; to require or persuade the president to change course," Clinton said. "But let me be clear. If this president won't end this war during his time in office, when I am president, I will!"
Clinton said President Bush was ignoring families that were trying to make ends meet, treating them, she said, as if they were invisible. She said universal healthcare would be the top priority of her administration and she pledged to get it done, as she described it, "this time."
"Yes, we do have nearly 47,000,000 uninsured Americans," Clinton said. "47,000,000 of our fellow Americans have to worry and wonder what will happen to them when they're sick. We'll we're going to change this system so that it works for Americans again and gets us the quality that we deserve to have for the money that we spend in healthcare in America today."
Given Ohio's important role in the presidential election process, all the candidates will likely be crisscrossing the state between now and next year. Paul Beck, a political science professor at Ohio State University says Sen. Clinton's visit, along with the other major candidates, will have an impact on a number of levels.
"One thing they do is fire up the party's supporters," Beck said. "People want to come and see them. It doesn't mean necessarily that people will support them. But they are party celebrities. They're also involved in raising money when they make a visit."
That's what Mrs. Clinton did on Saturday. She raised about $750,000 by one estimate.
As for energizing the audience, John McClelland, spokesman for the Ohio Republican Party says Hillary Clinton's visit will probably work both ways.
"If there's one person on the other side that Republicans quite frankly really don't like it's Hillary Clinton," McClelland said. "And so this will probably be a great night for the Democrats and good for them. But her presence only energizes our people to work harder as well."
Ohio is an important predictor in presidential elections. Only two Democrats since 1900 have won the presidency without carrying Ohio. No Republican has ever done so. But with the new super primaries coming up next February, the party nominees may already be selected by the time Ohio voters cast primary ballots in March.