Clinton greets Iowa’s ‘Obamadale’

DES MOINES - In the Des Moines neighborhood that became famous for helping fuel Barack Obama's historic campaign, Hillary Clinton appealed to activists by saying she embraces Obama's policies.

Clinton, the former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and first lady, spoke Saturday to roughly 200 people, according to the campaign's estimate, at an organizing party in Des Moines' Beaverdale neighborhood. The area has become known as 'Obamadale” for its many committed Democratic activists.

'You knew what you were doing. You supported a Democrat for a reason. I support the policies and values that both my husband and President Barack Obama stood for,” Clinton told the gathering. 'Because (those policies) work. They work for the vast majority of Americans.”

Saturday's event was held at the home of Sean and Vidhya Bagniewski, a Beaverdale couple who appeared in Clinton's campaign launch video.

'Beaverdale is a place where they don't only vote, they also like to phone bank and to door knock and do everything eels that we would hope for in a caucus,” Sean Bagniewski said. 'I know Beaverdale is really excited about (Clinton's visit).”

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who also is running for the Democratic nomination for president, campaigned in Beaverdale on Friday evening.

During Saturday's event, Clinton made her pitch to any undecided potential Democratic caucusgoers in the crowd.

'I'll let you in on a little secret: You don't beat the other side, with all of their resources, unless you're willing to fight and unless you're willing to take the incoming,” Clinton said. 'I think I'm in the best position to wage a campaign against the forces of raid on the other side, and then to win and to govern.”

Hillary Clinton compared the situations Obama and her husband Bill Clinton inherited when they became president. She said both turned around bad economic atmospheres in the country, and said Obama 'does not get the credit he deserves” for guiding the country's economic growth during his tenure.

She also advocated for early childhood education funding, said she would defend the new federal health care law, and called for support for people with mental illness.

Clinton was asked about the Obama administration's nuclear reduction deal with Iran. She said she supports the deal --- which Republican presidential candidates have lambasted --- and said the situation in Iran is 'complicated” because American and Iranian interests overlap in the desire to snuff out the terrorist group ISIS.

'We're going to have to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Clinton said. 'This is complicated.”

Clinton also said as president she would defend 'a woman's right to choose” and Planned Parenthood, which has come under attack from conservatives after a video leaked showing an employee discussing the sale of fetal tissue for research.

In a news release, the Republican Party of Iowa pointed out recent polls that showed poor favorability and trustworthiness numbers for Clinton, and that the federal State Department is investigating her use of a private email account and server while she served as Secretary of State.

'I'm grateful to every candidate that takes time to come to Iowa and really engage with the voter. I hope Hillary Clinton takes this opportunity to answer the 59 percent of Iowa voters who don't believe she can be trusted and question her honesty --- from classified information in her personal emails to her actions concerning the security of Americans at home and abroad,” said Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn said in the news release. 'We need a president who can lead our nation with integrity and trust. Frankly, a lot of Iowans are tired of the endless scandals, spin, and ducking direct questions.”

Calvetta Williams, of Des Moines, attended Saturday's event to hear Clinton speak.

Asked what Williams likes about Clinton, she said, 'Not only is she a woman, but I believe in what she's about. … I think she's for us.”

Later Saturday, Clinton attended a meeting of area Democrats in Winterset, which is famous for being the birthplace of John Wayne.