It takes a village to raise a child 2.0.
Via WAPO
Sketching a vision of a more hopeful, inclusive America that takes care of its own while taking on big challenges such as climate change, Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday she is running for president to be the champion the country needs now, as well as its history-making first female commander in chief.[…]
“I may not be the youngest candidate in this race, but I’ll be the youngest woman president in the history of the United States,” she told a crowd of cheering supporters on the southern tip of Roosevelt Island, with a stunning East River view of the Manhattan skyline in the background, the United Nations building sparkling in bright sunshine behind the podium.[…]
Framed around the story of how Clinton’s late mother, Dorothy Rodham, emerged from a childhood of mistreatment without losing her faith in humanity, the speech laid out how Clinton drew lessons about hope, perseverance and kindness from her mother’s example.
“My mother taught me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one,” Clinton said.
“I wish my mother could have been with us longer. I wish she could have seen Chelsea become a mother herself. I wish she could have met Charlotte. I wish she could have seen the America we’re going to build together,” she added.
Clinton has already written and spoken at some length about her mother’s generosity and resilience, and the example she set for a daughter who had far greater economic and educational prospects. Saturday’s speech was intended to expand on the notion that every child needs a champion.
The emphasis on Clinton’s personal story is part of an attempted rebranding of Clinton’s abiding image as an efficient, and sometimes chilly, policy wonk. She talks with glowing grandmotherly pride about 8-month-old granddaughter Charlotte at nearly every campaign appearance, and frequently invokes her mother’s example of perseverance.