Monday, May 15, 2006

Hillary: More foot-in-mouth disease

Hillary strikes again...
NEW YORK -- After telling an audience that young people today "think work is a four-letter word," Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said she apologized to her daughter.
"I said, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to convey the impression that you don't work hard,'" Clinton said Sunday in a commencement address at Long Island University. "I just want to set the bar high, because we are in a competition for the future."
Clinton spoke to more than 2,000 graduates days after she criticized young people at a gathering of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington.
In those remarks, she said young people have a sense of entitlement after growing up in a "culture that has a premium on instant gratification."
The senator said that her daughter, Chelsea, phoned to complain after learning about the comments. The 26-year-old was hired in 2003 by McKinsey & Co. as a consultant, reportedly for a six-figure salary. She received a master's degree from Oxford University after graduating from Stanford University in 2001.
"She called and she said, 'Mom, I do work hard and my friends work hard,'" Clinton said Sunday.
New York's junior senator, who is up for re-election this year, also told the graduates she plans to introduce a bill that would help college students manage and repay their loans. The proposal would limit loan payments to a certain percentage of their incomes, she said.
Hey, Hillary, tell that to my 16-year-old son, who works part-time at a sandwich shop. Tell that to my 16-year-old nephew, who works part-time in a machine shop. Tell that to my other 16-year-old nephew, who works part-time in an auto body shop. By the way, all three of them are regular honor roll visitors.
Hey, Hillary, tell that to my 14-year-old daughter, who's going to work as a junior lifeguard this summer. Tell that to my 19-year-old niece, who holds down a part-time job while going to college full-time. Tell that to my 24-year-old nephew, who holds down two jobs while pursuing his graduate degree and a job in his field.
Hey, Hillary, join the real world.
We won't forget in 2008, darlin.'