Clinton Praises Schumer's Record on 9/11 Issues
Senator Clinton is vouching for her fellow New York senator's commitment to the city after the World Trade Center attacks.
Mrs. Clinton, who has carved out post-September 11 health-related issues as part of her senatorial portfolio, made a point of saying last night that she and Senator Schumer "especially worked closely together after 9/11."
"Chuck and I felt such a sense of personally responsibility such that we could make sure that New York had the resources we needed to show the world our resilience and to recover from that horrific attack," she said at the 92nd Street Y as she was introducing Mr. Schumer before he spoke about his new book, "Positively American."
The comments came less than a week after a story in the Village Voice suggested that Mr. Schumer took up World Trade Center health issues late in the game. It noted that he was out in front on other issues, including getting emergency federal funding.
Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Schumer, sometimes considered rivals, had nothing but praise for each other. She called him the "hardest working man in Washington" and teased him about his regular Sunday news conferences and penchant for Chinese takeout.
She also jokingly suggested some alternate titles for his new book. She suggested he could have used such titles as "The Schumer Way: Keep Congress, Win the White House, and Achieve a Perfect Score on Your SATs," or "The Republican Political Machine: A Shanda."
For his part, Mr. Schumer, who is credited with orchestrating the Democratic takeover of the Senate, said the party needs to present a political vision that speaks to the middle class to win back the White House in 2008.
He said the Republicans are doing nothing about homeland security and that they care more about tax cuts for the wealthy.
"God forbid a nuclear weapon is smuggled" into the country, he said. "We're doing nothing about it."
Mr. Schumer has been calling for ship cargo containers to be screened for nuclear materials.
The senator also noted that he would have voted for medical marijuana if he had it to do over, and said he is not in favor of repealing the so-called estate tax.
Earlier in the day Mrs. Clinton honored six African American New Yorkers at her annual African American Heritage Celebration, an event she started her first year in office. The event comes as she is competing with Senator Obama, who is attempting to become the first black president, for support among African American leaders. Both are seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
The honorees at the event, held at the union headquarters of District Council 37, appeared to be big Clinton supporters.
The president of the Museum for African Art, Elsie Crum McCabe, one of the honorees, said President Bush "has more than once referred to Africa as a country, not a continent." The next president, she said, won't do that.
Ms. McCabe said she would be supporting Mrs. Clinton over Mr. Obama because she is "most personally familiar with her track record."
