Clinton Wraps Kick Off Speech With Memories Of Her Mom
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) -- Presidential Candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton wrapped up her campaign kick off speech Saturday with memories of her mother.
"I have been called many things by many people. Quitter is not one of them," said Clinton during her first major speech of her 2016 campaign.
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Clinton told the crowd of thousands on New York's Roosevelt Island that is something she got from her late mother, Dorothy Rodham. She says she would confide in her mother after hard days in the Senate and at the State Department.
Clinton says, "I wish my mother could have been with us longer. ... I wish she could have seen the America we are going to build together. ... Where we don't leave any one out or any one behind."
During her speech, Clinton focused mostly on economic policy but also took time to touch on foreign policy.
In the speech billed by her staff as a debut moment for her second campaign for president, Clinton also gave a nod to the prospect she would be the first woman elected to the White House.
She told those gathered at the rally she was glad to be with them "in a place with absolutely no ceilings."
Her speech comes just days before Former Florida Governor and possible Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush is set to possibly announce his bid for the White House in 2016.
While in Europe on Friday, Bush gave a preview to his "big announcement" set for Monday.
Bush said Monday's speech will be "hopeful, optimistic" and he'll point out why he thinks it's important to change the nation's course.
"It won't dwell too much in the past. But it will talk about why it's important that we change directions," said Bush.
Foreign policy has become a touchstone issue in the Republican campaign, with the rise of the Islamic State and the U.S. role in the Middle East at the center of the debate.
Bush was sharply critical of Clinton last month in a speech to Republicans in Michigan, where he said Clinton had carried out President Barack Obama's foreign policy as secretary of state, which he has blamed for the rise of the Islamic State in the Middle East and Russian aggression in the Ukraine.
"It's her policies as well," he said at a GOP dinner in Lansing. "And we will hold her to account."
Clinton had a different view on current foreign policy.
She said on Saturday, "There are a lot of trouble spots in the world, but there is a lot a good news, too."
She said the U.S. is uniquely positioned to confront a variety of challenges around the world and says she would do whatever it takes to "keep Americans safe."
Clinton said strong American leadership can shape global events and keep the country from being shaped by them.
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