Hillary Clinton didn’t announce she was running for president Tuesday night, but she did begin to outline a case for economic fairness and bipartisan cooperation – the themes that are expected to serve as the backbone of her campaign for the White House in 2016.
“We're fighting for an economy that works for everyone and includes everyone,” Clinton told 1,600 gathered in the nation’s capital.
For those gathered at the Emily’s List 30th anniversary gala where Clinton was honored, it was not just about electing the nation’s first female president. It was about electing Clinton.
Speaker after speaker prodded Clinton to run for president in 2016.
“Hillary, you heard us,” said Ellen Malcolm, founder of Emily’s List. “Just give the word and we'll be right at your side. We're ready to fight and we're ready to win in 2016.”
Clinton, the first female candidate to seriously vie for the presidency, spoke for about 30 minutes about elevating securing more benefits in their workplace, such as paid sick days and affordable childcare, and working together.
“We're not just standing up for women, but for all people,” she said.
The speech was similar to one she delivered to a largely female audience last week in Silicon Valley, with no references to recent problems that dogged her not-yet campaign -- her family’s foundation accepting foreign donations and using personal email for business at the State Department.
Reaction to her speech in a roomful of supporters was surprisingly muted with some of the loudest applause reserved for when she said referenced the possibility of running a second time.
“Along life’s way you get a chance to make millions of decisions, some of them are big like do you run for office,” she said to the roar of the crowd.
Even before embarking on a second run at the presidency, Clinton is the Democratic frontrunner for the nomination.
In the massive ballroom of supporters, there was a lot of talk about “cracking the last glass ceiling.” The audience listed to a couple dozens speakers, including several movie or TV stars America Ferrera and Lena Dunham, before Clinton while dining on a three-course dinner of halibut and chocolate espresso soufflé.
“In 2016 we will elect that Democratic women president and you know who I'm talking about,” said Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski, the longest-serving woman in congressional history, who announced this week that she will retire.
“Strong women get things done. We lead. We collaborate,” former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona said. “We deliver results: in City Halls, in state houses, in governor’s mansions, in Congress - and maybe soon, in the White House.”
Emily’s List has helped Democratic women who favor abortion rights win elections across the nation.
After the 2012 election, it launched an effort called Madam President to help propel a woman into the White House. That campaign isn’t about Clinton but the group and its supporters don’t seem to mind too much when people see her in the role. Emily’s List endorsed Clinton last time.
“When she wins...Hillary Clinton will be most qualified president in history,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “And she happens to be a woman.”
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. joked that he told former president Bill Clinton his new granddaughter, Charlotte, could call him POTUS -- short for president of the United States. “I said that might be a good name for Hillary, too,” he quipped.
Polling on behalf of Emily's List has found the 86 percent of voters in nine battleground states believe the nation is ready to elect a female president while 72 percent said it was likely that a woman would be elected in 2016.
Emily’s List President Stephanie Schriock introduced Clinton by saying “nobody in American political history has faced more unfair attacks…”
When she ran in 2008, Clinton avoided talking about her experiences as a woman, repeatedly saying that she was running because she was the best-qualified candidate.
But this time, Clinton has started to share more personal anecdotes about being a working mother and focusing on issues that might appeal to female voters including equal pay, paid family leave, affordable child care and access to health care.
“I know people roll their eyes when I say women’s issues are America's issues, but they'll have to get over it,” Clinton said.
Clinton said she is going to “beat this drum: of women's issues being American issues “as long and as loud as it takes.”
“Our country is full of brilliant talented women ready to lead,” she said.
Clinton was the keynote speaker last week at the sold-out one-day Lead On Watermark Silicon Valley Conference for Women filled with professional women at an event designed to increase the number of women executives. Later this month, Clinton will speak at an awards ceremony in memory of the first woman to be the national political correspondent of The New York Times and at a United Nations meeting on women’s rights.
Clinton’s work on these issues isn’t new. But the topic was notably absent during the 2008 campaign.
Her change in tactics underscores the importance of women who vote in greater numbers. They have favored Democratic presidential candidates since 1980. President Barack Obama won the female by large margins in 2008 and 2012 as Democrats attacked Republicans for waging a "war on women."
Republicans have accused her for months of “hiding” with only a few speeches, many paid.
“It speaks volumes that Hillary Clinton will gladly attend fancy galas yet continues to hide from the American people,” said Allison Moore, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
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