The word straight from the senator

Albany -- Clinton goes on ``Hardball,'' a live TV show, at Ualbany

By JAMES ODATO, Capitol bureau First published: Thursday, November 21, 2002

Hillary Rodham Clinton attempted to become a beacon Wednesday to draw people from around the world to Albany.

Indeed, thousands turned their attentions here because of the senator's appearance at the University at Albany Wednesday night during a live -- and sometimes disrupted -- broadcast of MSNBC's ``Hardball.'' Others are concentrating on Albany as a result of the Democrat's visit with foreign officials to the uptown campus and its computer chip research facilities.

Surrounded by about 800 University at Albany students, including a few anti-war protesters and a couple people upset about Oneida Indian matters, Clinton told talk show host Chris Matthews at the university's Page Hall that she doesn't consider herself a presidential candidate this decade. Yet she said that a woman should be a candidate someday.

Those attending the Matthews program seemed to be strongly against U.S. military invasions, based on crowd reaction when Iraq was the topic.

Clinton said Saddam Hussein can't be allowed to build weapons of mass destruction. But she emphasized her distaste for the Bush administration's pugnacious attitude. The drumbeat for war, she said, ``does a disservice to our nation.''

She asserted that the President prefers military action instead of investing in other countries to ensure American safety.

Early in the nearly 60-minute program, a person dressed in Muslim garb rose and shouted. Later, a few other young people briefly disrupted the proceedings. Some protested the treatment of families being evicted from their reservation homes by Oneida officials in central New York. Others were angry about the prospects of war.

Clinton said she was happy to see such enthusiasm. ``We now have people on our campuses willing to express themselves,'' she said.

A few hours earlier, Clinton played host to a delegation of foreign technology industry representatives at the college. She boasted about the emergence of this region and state in the field of nanotechnology and computer chip research.

``I refer to myself as ... a cheerleader,'' she told reporters after the discussion with tech business officials from France, Canada, Norway and Switzerland. Some visitors said they intend to return in the coming weeks with more people from their countries to tour the research facilities developed and developing at the university.

``The Capital Region has the potential of literally being a global center of nanotechnology -- research and jobs,'' Clinton said. She emphasized that four colleges in New York are developing research facilities in what could be a trillion-dollar industry in 10 years involving nanotechnology -- the science of developing molecular-level substances and products.

She said she agreed to go on ``Hardball'' if the University at Albany was the site ``because nobody knows what a great university we have here and the extraordinary work that's being done.''

Students were excited about the senator's appearance. Senior Chad Waxman of Poughkeepsie said Clinton handled herself admirably on TV, but he was disappointed in the protests. ``I think it was a boost in a way. ... They made Albany look bad. ... Those kids had to be so rude,'' he said.

-- Anonymous, November 21, 2002