Hillary Reaches Out To Rival

While calling on New Yorkers to pray for her cancer-stricken rival, U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday she will continue campaigning across the Empire State.

At a stop at the Wagner Restaurant in Penn Yan, about 90 miles east of Buffalo, the first lady spoke and answered questions from about 100 Yates County Democrats for about a half hour.

Clinton's campaign stop came about one hour after New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani announced he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Giuliani, a Republican, told reporters he wasn't certain how that will affect his Senate campaign against Democrat Clinton.

Giuliani campaign aides said the mayor was going ahead with his immediate political schedule, including campaign stops in Saratoga Springs on Friday evening and in Buffalo Saturday.

The first lady said she and the mayor spoke briefly on the phone.

"Like all New Yorkers, my prayers and best wishes are with the mayor for a full and speedy recovery and I hope everyone joins me in wishing him well as he undergoes the treatment that is required," said Clinton.

In her talk with Yates County Democrats, the first lady sought to appeal to the traditionally conservative upstate voters who are expected to play a key role in determining the outcome of the election.

For instance, Clinton told them that while she favored "sensible" gun control measures, she did not want to take away weapons from people who want to use them for hunting or self-defense.

"I've gone hunting...I killed a duck," Clinton said. "It was the first and last one I ever killed because it wasn't for me. But you know, I had a good time out there, although it was really cold standing in that water."

The first lady drew applause when she offered her alternative to massive tax cuts proposed by congressional Republicans.

"If we pay down the national debt, that would be the best tax cut we could give our children and our grandchildren," she said.

At Watkins Glen High School, Clinton drew sustained applause from more than 500 students, parents and teachers when she condemned the public release of videotapes related to the Columbine killings.

"I am outraged that the videotapes of the Columbine killings have been released to the public," Clinton said.

The first lady also drew cheers as she said, "When it comes to drugs and when it comes to weapons, parents need to become nosier again."

Earlier, Clinton vowed not to run for president in four years if elected to the Senate - even if Republicans win the White House this year.

"I am going to serve my six-year term as senator. I owe it to the people of New York," the first lady said Wednesday during a town meeting in Buffalo.

Her promise could serve to remove one of the larger campaign tactics currently being used by the GOP in the Empire State. Giuliani and state Republicans have been hammering away at the notion that the first lad is only using New York as a step toward a run for the presidency.

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