By Andrew Coen
In an interview with the Herald after the speeches, Clinton talked about her impressions of the area. I love the Five Towns area, and I particularly respect the dedication to education, she said, adding that she has made private visits to the Five Towns in the past. The Five Towns are known for first-rate education for young people, and to me that is the most important investment to make in the next generation.
When asked about the divisiveness that exists in the Lawrence school system between public- and private-school parents, the senator emphasized the importance of public education. I'm a very strong supporter of public schools, because I think that our country, which is so pluralistic, has thrived because people from different backgrounds have gone to school together, and I would hate to lose that, she said. I think public schools are important to the entire community, even for people who don't have children or people who choose to go to private schools. It would be a great loss to America if we were to undermine our public school system.
Clinton, who has repeatedly said she will not jump into next year's presidential race, gave the same answer when asked if she would consider a run for vice president if the offer were made. No, that's not going to happen, she said.
At Temple Israel of Lawrence, Clinton delivered a Hanukkah address toward the end of Max Brook's Bar Mitzvah. She also gave an update on the Middle East situation, based on her visits to Iraq and Afghanistan with U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-R.I.) over the Thanksgiving weekend. I felt that tension between hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, said Clinton of the reactions she got from people on her recent visit.
Clinton praised the work the U.S military is doing in both Iraq and Afghanistan in the ongoing war on terrorism, and she said she expects an American military presence there for a long time. In both Afghanistan and Iraq, the American military is doing an extraordinary job under some very dangerous and difficult circumstances, she said. We will be there for a long time if we expect to be successful.
Clinton, who voted for the Iraq resolution giving President Bush the authority to go to war, said that whether one felt the war was the right thing or not, there is no turning back. Whatever one thought about going into Iraq, we now have to accept the consequences of those actions and be prepared to do what it takes to bring more international support and to make the commitment that will be required by our own nation, she said.
Clinton also pledged her support for Israel. The United States stands with Israel, she said Clinton. We will support our friends and for many of you, family members and loved ones in Israel. I hope that along with the many lessons that Americans, particularly non-Jewish Americans, can learn from Israel is what it takes to stand resolved against terror in the long run.
Immediately after her speech at Temple Israel, amid tight security, Clinton was escorted across town to Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst to speak at the school's 34th annual Government-In-Action Model Congress Conference. She emphasized to the students how they are the future of the country and how she keeps them in mind when she votes. When I walk out onto the floor of the Senate and do what you are modeling with your work here in this Congress, I would say that more than 90 percent of every vote I cast has more to do with your futures than mine or your parents' and certainly your grandparents', because governing is supposed to be about the future, Clinton said.
She walked the students through the legislative process in the Senate and House of Representatives. The legislative process is truly a messy process, Clinton said. It's hard to take an issue É and work out the compromises, especially when you feel strongly about something, and it is difficult to put together the coalition that you need to get a legislative idea into a bill and then get the bill passed, and that is the way it has always been.
She used the current energy bill, which is pending before the Congress, with support and opposition from many different interest groups, as an example to demonstrate the challenges Congress faces and the hurdles that the students will encounter in the Model Congress.
Clinton closed her speech by thanking the students for getting involved with legislative issues at such a young age. I think that what you're doing here in getting an insider's view of this process is extremely important, because when you follow the news, sometimes it is so confusing, she said. But this system has worked for all of these years, and it will continue to work as long as people like yourself care enough to learn about it and to vote and to participate in whatever way, in your minds, is appropriate.
The only way our system can keep working is if more and more young people become involved and take the time to learn about the issues and to participate, and because you are, I'm both impressed and grateful.
Clinton then answered prepared questions from some of the students and teachers involved with Government-In-Action from schools on Long Island and Westchester County. Responding to a question about standardized testing, she said she thinks the tests are necessary, but there's too much emphasis on them. I generally favor standardized testing, she said, but I am not in favor of it being the only determination and of having so much of it that it really interferes with everything else that students can enjoy or participate in, she said. You have to have them, but I hope that we have a more balanced view toward them.
Both speeches drew standing ovations from the packed crowds at Temple Israel and Lawrence High. I am on cloud nine, said Lawrence High School Principal Dr. Steven Kussin. From start to finish it was just picture-perfect. It was the best civics lesson kids could get.
She's a very gracious woman with a profound intellect who is a dedicated public servant, Temple Israel Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum said of Clinton.
