If there was any
doubt that Sen. Hillary Clinton is already running as a
general election candidate, it can be put to rest after
Wednesday night's Democratic debate in Hanover,
N.H.
In one telling
exchange, she responded to a question about whether
elementary-school curricula should include a story about two
princes (i.e., a same-sex couple) living happily ever
after by saying, "With respect to your individual
children, that is such a matter of parental
discretion." Clinton then avoided addressing the issue of
homosexuality in grade school altogether.
Her comments
stood in stark contrast to those of former senator John
Edwards and Sen. Barack Obama, who both essentially endorsed
teaching such a story to students moments earlier.
Responding to the
direct question "Would you be comfortable having this
story read to your children as part of their school
curriculum?" Edwards said, "Yes,
absolutely." Although he later added the caveat
"Second grade might be a little tough,"
he basically stuck with the principle of reading the
story in a grade school setting.
Obama followed
suit, albeit not quite so directly.
"I feel
very similar to John," he said. "The fact is,
my 9-year-old and my 6-year-old I think are already
aware that there are same-sex couples. My wife and I
have talked about it. One of the things I want to
communicate to my children is not to be afraid of people who
are different, because there have been times in our
history where I was considered different, or Bill
Richardson was considered different."
Clinton, however,
in a cagey political diversion, left the matter up to
individual parental discretion, then ended her answer on a
pro-gay up note. "I think that this issue of gays and
lesbians and their rights will remain an important one
in our country," she said. "And I hope that --
tomorrow we're going to vote on the hate-crimes bill, and
I'm sure that those of us in the Senate will be there to
vote for it."
Adding
protections for LGBT people to the federal hate-crimes law
-- a measure that the Senate passed Thursday -- has
the support of 68% of American voters, according to a
Gallup Poll conducted in May. That means hate crimes
is a safe, independent voter-friendly reference -- and
something LGBT citizens are highly focused on.
Clinton's
answer to the question was consistent with the entirety of
her debate performance, as she started to more toward
more moderate positions -- palatable to the
general electorate -- on other hot-button issues
too, including leaving combat troops in Iraq, how
to approach relations with Iran, and how to pay for Social
Security.
The Associated
Press has stories here and here. (Kerry Eleveld, The
Advocate)
