YOUNGSTOWN — A soft-spoken but well-informed Chelsea Clinton campaigned Tuesday for her mother at Youngstown State University.
Dressed in a stylish marching band-style tweed jacket and black jeans, the former first daughter skipped the cheers and rally atmosphere of many campaign events. Instead, she stood alone on stage for almost an hour answering questions from the audience about her personal life and campaign issues.
About 150 people attended the event at Kilcawley Center at YSU.
Clinton, who turns 28 today, won over many in the audience, even those who remain undecided in the Democratic presidential race between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama. Several members of the audience complemented her, and one said Chelsea Clinton should change her mind and run for office herself.
‘‘Flattery, flattery, flattery,’’ Clinton said. Her personal political aspirations ‘‘stop at having my mom be my president.”
Laura Mastro of Austintown said Clinton’s parents ‘‘raised an extraordinary young lady’’ in a difficult place to raise a kid.
While Mastro said she remains undecided in the race for the Democratic nomination, she said she was encouraged by some things Clinton said about her mother’s stance on the war in Iraq, the economy and health care. Mastro was most interested in what Clinton said about her mother’s plans to pay for all of her proposals.
Politicians talk about the wonderful things they are going to do for people, Mastro said. After hearing Chelsea Clinton, Mastro said it appears her mother ‘‘has a more developed idea of how to actually deliver on her promises.’’
Still Mastro said, she planned to watch Tuesday’s debate between the two candidates before making up her mind.
In a brief introduction, Clinton stated her ‘‘passionate’’ support for her mother and said, ‘‘I’m here to talk to you about whatever is important to you to think about who to support on March 4.’’
Questions ranged from issues such as health care and free trade — which have been flash points between the two candidates — to what can be done to give Youngstown students a chance to stay home and have good careers.
Clinton talked about her mother’s plans to stop tax loopholes for companies that outsource jobs, creating programs that would create jobs that can’t be outsourced by rebuilding the country’s infrastructure, and creating green-collar jobs by erecting environmentally friendly buildings or retrofitting existing structures.
She also said her mother supports raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour and adjusting it to inflation. When one person suggested that could hurt employers, Clinton said it would be done gradually and there would be tax breaks to help small businesses.
Clinton also took some tough questions.
A woman who said she was an Iraq war veteran asked if her mother’s plan to start withdrawing troops in 60 days would ensure their safety. Clinton said her mother has asked the Pentagon and that in confidential briefings they told her a lot of things but planning for a withdrawal was not one of them.
So, Hillary Clinton turned to her advisers who said it would take 60 days to develop a safe plan to start bringing soldiers home securely.
‘‘So if you hear 60 days, that’s where that came from,’’ Clinton told the YSU audience.
Ray Nakely of Youngstown asked about her mother’s support for the wall Israel is building to separate itself from Palestinian territory.
Clinton acknowledged her mother is a strong supporter of Israel but that she also supports a Palestinian state and wants the United States be an honest broker between the two sides.
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