AP Photo Clinton: I'll give my Keystone pipeline opinion 'soon'

Concord, N.H. – Hillary Clinton again refused to state her position on the Keystone XL pipeline Thursday at the beginning of a three-day swing through New Hampshire, but she promised to voice her opinion on it “soon.”

“Keystone Pipeline, one of my favorite issues,” Clinton said when asked about the proposed oil pipeline at a friendly town hall here in the first-in-the-nation primary state, where she is seeking to regain her polling lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I have been waiting for the administration to make a decision … I can’t wait too much longer. I’m putting the White House on notice, I’m going to tell you what I think -- soon.”


The contentious pipeline project is still under review at the State Department, and Clinton has said for months that because the process was started under her watch, she should not “second guess” President Barack Obama’s eventual decision. Her refusal to say whether she supports approving or rejecting the pipeline has been criticized from both sides as a lack of leadership on an important issue to the Democratic Party’s grassroots. Sanders opposes the pipeline and has criticized Clinton for not taking a position on it.

The Keystone question was lobbed at Clinton at the end of what devolved into a lightning-round town hall at the Boys and Girls Club, where attendees shouted out the general topic of their questions -- immigration, autism, Russian President Vladimir Putin, climate change, and more -- with Clinton offering a quick-fire round of answers that did not probe much deeper than what she says in her stump speech.

The evening event – Clinton’s second of the day -- was attended by many New Hampshire voters who said they were deciding between Clinton and Sanders for the Democratic nomination. By the end, she appeared eager to tick off quick hits on national and international issues rather than engage in longer back-and-forth discussions that some attendees had been anticipating.

Clinton had already listened a lot throughout a day that kicked off with a discussion about substance abuse in Laconia, a picturesque city between two lakes where the community has struggled with pervasive problems of drug and alcohol addiction. She was joined by Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, who has become a choice endorsement from Sanders' home state for Clinton to tout in neighboring New Hampshire (where Sanders is leading Clinton by 7 points, 43 percent to 36 percent, in a Monmouth Poll released earlier this week).

The morning discussion and setting could not have provided a starker contrast with Clinton’s Wednesday night appearance on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” where she gamely poked fun at Donald Trump and herself, part of a recent charm offensive in an attempt to show off a softer side. But at the sober event with grieving parents and recovering addicts, Clinton was somber again as attendees poured out their personal stories.

Two mothers shared stories of losing their sons -- one to a drug overdose and one to suicide. Another woman, Jane Sparks, told Clinton she has been in recovery since 2009, and said her 21-year-old son has been sober for two weeks and is living with her.

None of the teary testimonials ended in a question -- and Clinton didn’t jump in to reclaim the narrative or offer any more specifics about her $10 billion, ten-year plan to help combat drug abuse that she unveiled earlier this month. Instead, she took a back-seat role and listened, offering her sympathy from the center of the room. "This is a disease," she said in her opening remarks. "It has to be interrupted and treated and prevented, if possible. We have to equip law enforcement with the ability to save people from overdoses." Clinton has proposed that first responders carry naloxone – which reverses the effects of opiods -- to help prevent overdoses. "Untended, it's only going to get worse ... the heartbreak and the tragedies are only going to increase."

Clinton’s New Hampshire swing continues Friday morning, with a community forum on college affordability in Durham and a Democratic dinner in Plymouth Friday night.

Many New Hampshire voters who came out to see her speak on Thursday said they were still undecided -- but that had nothing to do with the email controversy that has been dogging Clinton's campaign, or even any dislike of the former Secretary of State. It had more to do with facts about Clinton that she has little power to change, they said.

“I am on the fence,” said Glenda Guzouskas, a retired teacher. “I like Hillary a lot. What nags at me a little bit is that the establishment doesn’t really tend to get very far and do very much. I keep wondering, how are you going to be different? Bernie Sanders says things that are really for the everyday person right now. And he’s not an establishment person.”

