FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to emphasize her strength on defense and veterans’ issues while campaigning Thursday in a state with strong military ties and the next Democratic primary contest.
North Carolina is home to the Marine Corps’ Camp Lejeune and the Army’s Fort Bragg, two massive installations whose troops have suffered heavy losses in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Clinton told several hundred people, including many military families, about her plans to improve life for veterans and said she wants to bring troops home from Iraq “as responsibly and quickly” as possible. “There are no quick solutions to the dilemmas we face and the consequences that are likely to flow from whatever actions are taken,” she said.
“We cannot have a leap of faith or any guesswork in this election,” she said. “A lot of people voted for President Bush the first time because he said he was . . . a compassionate conservative. That sounded good — nobody knew what it meant — but it sounded great.”
