PENACOOK, N.H. – In a shift from her failed campaign strategy in Iowa, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton dispensed with her stump speech at her first campaign event here Saturday morning and threw open the floor for questions.

The first one was from a young woman who said that, just earlier, she was asked by Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly about Mrs. Clinton’s plan on Iraq.

Mr. O’Reilly was standing close by himself.

“Oh hi Bill!” Mrs. Clinton said. “We, this question is for you,” she added to the young woman, “and Bill O’Reilly!” She went on to share her ideas for Iraq, such as swiftly withdrawing troops within her first 60 days and insuring that returning wound soldiers had quality health care.



In her opening remarks, Mrs. Clinton focused on the economy, warning that the nation may be slipping into a recession and proposing an “economic action plan” that included tax relief for middle-class families and aid to people facing home foreclosures.

“Yesterday we had some unfavorable economic news – we saw the unemployment rate going up, and we saw the worst three days in the American stock market to begin a year since 1932,” Mrs. Clinton said.

She called for a moratorium on home foreclosures and more assistance for families dealing with winter costs such as higher heating bills. She also said “we need to take a hard look at how we get more tax relief to the to middle class families” – Mrs. Clinton has proposed continuing tax cuts for middle-income earners and raising taxes on people earning $200,000 or more.

About 400 people filled the Merrimack Valley High School gymnasium and scores more stood in line outside. Mrs. Clinton interrupted her opening remarks several times by asking the fire marshal to let more people in to fill empty seats.

“See, I am a problem-solver, I’ve been telling you that through this whole campaign,” Mrs. Clinton said. “Big challenges, real solutions, right?” About 150 more hundred people streamed in, with more waiting outside.