Fmr. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton is the frontrunner in a small group of Dems that want you to give them the top job at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave -- an address she knows well as a former First Lady. Get to know your candidate here.
Note: ALL candidates have been offered the chance to Guest Skimm. Opinions are of the candidate, not theSkimm.
HOMETOWN:
I was born in Chicago and raised in a suburb called Park Ridge, IL.
FUN FACT:
One of the best jobs I had to prepare me to be president was sliming fish in Alaska.
TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF.
Well, I am from the Midwest and I had a great upbringing -- went to public schools, and had my first job when I was thirteen working in a public park in Park Ridge, and I worked ever since except the eight years when I was First Lady [when] I was a full time volunteer. And I was lucky enough right out of law school to go work for the Children's Defense Fund, defending and advocating for kids and that's really been a passion that I've brought with me, my entire life in every job that I've ever had.
WHO SHOULD WE CALL FOR A REFERENCE?
Since the job interview is for being the president of the United States, probably my husband, who has been there and knows how hard the job is. And President Obama who I worked for, for four years. I think calling the two presidents...makes the most sense.
WHAT'S YOUR GREATEST STRENGTH?
My greatest strength is my passionate commitment to helping people -- and I feel so strongly that I had a lot of opportunities and that there are people, particularly women, who are just as talented and hardworking, but who haven't had the same chances that I had. And one of the reasons why in all of my economic policies that I am talking about in this campaign I really put women at the center -- and it's not just because I am one -- it's because when women succeed, families do better, America does better... I think that a lot of my commitment and my strength is because I don't quit, I stay focused, and I work hard to try to contribute to making life better for all of us.
WHAT'S YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS?
How much time do we have? I am impatient and I sometimes come across as impatient, which is not always attractive, and [I] get really frustrated with people who don't understand what I think it's going to take to make our country great tomorrow just like we were yesterday.
WHERE DO YOU STAND ON THE FOLLOWING...
THE ECONOMY.
I believe that we avoided a Great Depression and I give a lot of credit to the American people who made tough decisions....I want the middle class to mean something again. I want people to feel like their paychecks are reflecting their hard work. That's why I put raising incomes as my goal for my economic agenda, because if we don't...we are going to see the slow and steady erosion of the middle class, and that is one of the great inventions of the United States.
THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT (AKA OBAMACARE).
I'm very proud of the Affordable Care Act and what it has accomplished....but I think we have to do more. What I want to see us do is tackle the cost issues....I think that we made a big step forward in saying that we are going to take care of mental health problems, but I don't think we are delivering on that.
EDUCATION.
I am going to propose that we refinance the student loans that are already held by people. And we have to make college itself more affordable. I support the president's plan for two years of free community college, I think that is the modern equivalent of extending high school to everyone....I'm a big believer that you should have the option of paying back your loans based on something called income-contingency repayment. I had that when I went to law school....I had to borrow money, which I did -- but I paid it back as a percentage of my income.
CLIMATE CHANGE.
I think it is one of the most consequential crises that we face on the planet.... And I support what the president has done in using his executive authority to address everything from mileage to power plant emissions. So I am one who believes that we have got to accelerate the development on clean renewable energy and energy efficiency and...I will be rolling out a set of goals that I think our country could meet.
THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL.
I support it. I worked as secretary of state to put into place the very tough sanctions on Iran....and I really support what Secretary Kerry and [US Energy] Secretary Moniz did to put together the deal. The question for me is enforcements. We have to make sure that everything is done to enforce the terms of this agreement and I would be very tough on enforcement.
WOULD YOU CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT HOW THE US IS HANDLING THIS WHOLE ISIS THING?
I did advocate early on when I was still secretary of state for more help to the moderate rebels against Assad in Syria, because I believed that they would be more likely to work with the United States and the West if we supported them early. That was not the policy that was adopted at that time, and it's always hard in retrospect to say what would've happened if something else had been decided so I don't want to be in a position where I'm second guessing, but I think our efforts now to try to train and arm so-called moderates inside of Syria is made much more difficult because al-Qaeda groups, ISIS groups, other terrorist groups have really flooded the zone....And now we have to do what the president has advocated.... [ISIS] is not a threat that we can just wish would go away, we do have to confront it, but we have to be smart about it. And I do not think putting American troops on the ground is the smart way to deal with it.
RIGHT TO CHOOSE. YES OR NO?
Yes!
THE SUPREME COURT'S RULING ON GAY MARRIAGE. YES OR NO?
Yes!
WHAT WOULD YOU ASK THE WHITE HOUSE CHEF TO MAKE FOR YOUR FIRST MEAL BACK?
I can't possibly be as disciplined as the Obamas. I just cant. I mean I've had meals with them -- they are so disciplined....There is a whole pastry kitchen in the White House, and there is always a fabulous pastry chef who works there and you can ask for anything, so you have to remind me when I'm there...Anything that even comes close to having chocolate in it, on it, around it, is pretty hard for me to resist.
HOW MANY TIMES DO YOU HIT SNOOZE IN THE MORNING?
Depends upon the morning. Some mornings not at all, I wake up before I even have planned to. Some mornings I go, "oh I can't believe it's time. Give me just five more minutes." But it is usually only once.
HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR COFFEE?
Sometimes black, sometimes with cream or milk.
theSKIMM
Hillz has a resume that includes former secretary of state, US senator, First Lady, and law firm partner. So, she's got experience. But she's also got baggage. There's the possible federal investigation into whether sensitive info was compromised in connection with the personal email account she used as secretary of state. There's also the fact that she's been the Democratic frontrunner before -- and just like in '08, there's a candidate further to the left that's generating a lot of buzz among young voters.
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