Heidi M. Przybyla

USA TODAY

NEWTON, Iowa — Annette Bebout, a senior citizen who lost her home after her husband died, became the unplanned face of Hillary Clinton's attempt to show voters both her populist fire and her empathetic side in the closing days before Iowans caucus.

During Clinton's appearance at a middle school in Newton, she asked the audience to imagine what it's like to lose your home after suffering a decrease in Social Security benefits.

Widows losing up to half their Social Security benefits is a big issue in Iowa, Clinton said. That's when Bebout yelled out that she lost her home, which led Clinton to call her to the front.

"I care a lot about making sure everyone gets a fair benefit, but I'm really concerned about what's happening to older women," the Democratic presidential candidate said as Bebout, with grandmotherly gray curls, rose and shared through tears the story of losing her home after raising five children.

"I felt whipped," Bebout said in a later interview. Asked whether Clinton's response seemed authentic to her, Bebout again choked up. "I could see her eyes water. She cared," Bebout said.

Clinton flashbacks to 2008 may end after Iowa

The exchange capped a longer speech in which Clinton sounded a series of populist notes, including taking aim at U.S. companies that evade taxes and drawing distinctions with her competitors on her plan to crack down on Wall Street.

Clinton also singled out a Wisconsin company called Johnson Controls that she said is part of an automotive industry that benefited from a government bailout after the 2008 financial crisis.

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Now, she said, the company is trying to "pretend" to relocate itself overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes.

"Under the tax code, they call this an inversion," Clinton said. "It's a perversion of what we should be doing to build America," she said, raising her voice.

"I don't know if I'll be able to yell enough about it to stop them," she said. "We're going to make those who move pay dearly" for leaving the country "that made them successful," she added.

Clinton is trying to neutralize Sanders' advantage on the issue that caucusgoers say is their top priority: the economy. While polls show she has an advantage over Sanders on some issues, including gun control, his populist anti-Wall Street message is what's exciting some of his strongest supporters.

At a Wednesday campaign event in Iowa, Sanders blasted Clinton for raising money from a Philadelphia investment firm rather than campaigning in the state.

Polls show Sanders and Clinton in a tight race with Iowa's caucuses four days away.