Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Abby Harvey Chelsea Clinton smiles while signing autographs after speaking to the public Tuesday in the Blugold Room, Davies Center.

Some came in support of Chelsea Clinton's mother, democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, some to hear the ideas of her candidacy, and a few came to show their opposition to the New York Senator.

Whatever their reasons for attending Chelsea's Fourth and final stop on her tour of Wisconsin universities, most were impressed by the 27-year-old former first daughter's eloquence and in-depth knowledge of her mother's stance on the issues.

"It was jaw-dropping," said Lt. Gov. Barbar Lawton (D), who has accompanied Chelsea Clinton on her tours. "I was very surprised by the thorough understanding she had and how she listened to very hard questions that she drew threads from different policy areas together."

Clinton fielded about 20 questions on a wide range of topics, from education to gay marriage, abortion to the Patriot Act and, of course, healthcare and the Iraq War.

"It's really interesting because often you'll just here these general statements about what Hillary is doing. But Chelsea knows all these nitty gritty details," said sophomore Lauren Scott, who introduced Clinton Tuesday and is the daughter of Hillary Clinton's campaign chair in Eau Claire, Lori Scott. "So to be able to get in there, tell you what's going on in Hillary's mind and what's going on behind the scenes (is interesting)."

"I really think she reflects her mother's policies, probably to a 'T' and better than anybody else," senior Rena Christman said.

"She took no liberties," Lawton said. "You could tell her words were very precise because she is very fair to her mother's positions because nothing's more important as we approach voting."

Although many students were impressed by Chelsea Clinton, her speech didn't guarantee their vote. Most who were interviewed said they want to hear someone from opponent Barack Obama's campaign before deciding who to cast their vote for.

Clinton never mentioned Obama in her question-and-answer session, although she took some jabs at President Bush.

When asked by an audience member of the dangers of having another president with the last name Clinton or Bush, Chelsea replied, "Well … I wish we hadn't had President Bush," which received laughter and applause from

the crowd.

"I would hope you would vote for my mom on her own merits," Clinton said. "I don't think anyone should vote for or against her because of my father."

Lawton spoke of the contrasts between Hillary Clinton and Obama.

"Barack Obama is an inspiring orator, but when we're talking about accomplishing policy changes that need to happen starting on day one - after eight years of a George Bush administration - Hillary Clinton stands alone in understanding what needs to be done and how to get it done."

Lawton is Lieutenant Governor for Jim Doyle. Doyle has endorsed Obama and spoke at Chippewa Valley Technical College last week in support of the Illinois Senator. But Lawton said their differing endorsements were not a problem and once the nomination is awarded, they will both get behind that candidate.

Lisa Cooper-Murphy, coordinator of the Women's and Gender Equity Center, which co-sponsored the event, said WAGE cannot endorse a candidate but she was impressed by Chelsea as a speaker.

"I thought it was a great event to have on campus," she said. "I thought she was funny … and she really knew the issues."

The event was originally scheduled to be held in The Cabin, but it was switched to the Bluegold room on Monday.

The Blugold room, the lounge area near Jazzman's Café, is still a small venue for such a speaker. There was standing room only and the crowds were backed up deep towards the food court.

Clinton spoke in similar size venues at the three other universities in Wisconsin - UW-Madison, UW-Milwaukee and UW-La Crosse, according to various reports.

Cooper-Murphy said Lori Scott told her Chelsea Clinton prefers to have more intimate venues for her appearances.

There were few hecklers. One had a sign with reference to NBC reporter David Schuster's comments about Chelsea Clinton being "pimped out" to make phone calls to superdelegates on behalf of her mother.

Another had a sign that read: "America Deserves Better Than Aristocracy: Say 'No' To The Clinton Dynasty."

The owner of the sign was Freshman Ryan Prior, who said he wasn't necessarily opposed to some of Hillary Clinton's stances, but that a single family shouldn't hold so much power.

"I'm more worried that people don't think enough about the dangers of letting American political power flow along family lines.

"I worry about the size of the political machine that the Clinton family has built up around itself," he said.

But there were no major incidents and most of the crowd was excited to have such a big name on campus.

"I'm so glad that the city of Eau Claire is having the opportunity to get into this presidential debate-to get really prepared for the primary," Lauren Scott said. "I think it was very gracious of Chelsea to come talk here."

- News editor Ryan Dostalek contributed to this report.

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