Hillary Clinton cries again, campaigning in Connecticut

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

February 5, 2008

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., became emotional when complimented by Penn Rhodeen, a New Haven public interest lawyer, who worked with Clinton as a student. (AP Photo / February 4, 2008)

NEW HAVEN, Conn. - For the second time in a month, Hillary Rodham Clinton nearly broke down on a campaign stop targeting female voters. A three-state campaign swing in the Northeast began with an emotional reunion with old friends at the Yale Child Study Center, where Clinton worked with abused and neglected children during the 1970s.

She was introduced by Penn Rhodeen, a former Legal Aid lawyer who collaborated with the former first lady on child custody cases.

Rhodeen recalled her a as young law school student who showed up wearing purple bellbottoms in 1972. "Here is the abiding truth we know -- you have always been a champion for children. Welcome home, dear friend. We are so proud of you," he said.

Clinton teared up, wiping her eyes with her hand. "I said I would not tear up," Clinton said with a smile. "Already we're not on that path."

The mood was noticeably different from Clinton's emotional response during a Portsmouth, N.H., appearance in early January, when her voice broke and she momentarily seemed at a loss for words. This time, Clinton made light of the situation and was quickly exchanging jokes with friends in the audience, including Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a fellow Yale alum.

Some analysts have said her New Hampshire display of emotion helped her rebound from her Iowa defeat and beat back a charge by Barack Obama. In New Hampshire, Clinton teared up when a woman asked her how she is affected by campaigning for president.

Clinton shows some signs of strain from a grueling campaign schedule, coughing uncontrollably at one point during an economic roundtable with women voters. "It comes and goes," she said, sipping water to get her cough under control. It was the first event in a packed schedule the last campaign day before Super Tuesday, when voters in 22 states were headed to the polls.

Polls showed the race tightening in several key states holding contests Tuesday, including California. Clinton made a stop later Monday in Massachusetts before heading to New York City, where she is taping the David Letterman show and hosting a 90-minute town hall meeting to be broadcast live on the Hallmark Channel.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.