Clinton urges renewed 'fight for values'
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[November 17, 2016]
By Ian Simpson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defeated Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton called on Wednesday for a renewed
fight for a more-inclusive United States despite disappointment over an
election loss that laid bare national divisions.
In her first public remarks since conceding to Republican Donald Trump
last week, Clinton said that many Americans were asking whether his
victory meant the United States was still the country they thought it
was.
"The divisions laid bare by this election run deep, but please listen to
me when I say this. America is worth it, our children are worth it," she
said at a Children Defense Fund event honoring scholarship winners.
"Believe in our country, fight for our values and never, ever give up."
Although Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman called the nonprofit
advocacy group's event "a love-in for Hillary Rodham Clinton," the
former first lady said it had not been easy for her to attend.
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"There have been times this past week when all I wanted to do was just
to curl up with a good book or our dogs, and never leave the house
again," said Clinton, whose ties to the Children Defense Fund date back
to her work there as a young law student.
Clinton, a former secretary of state, won the popular vote but lost the
crucial electoral college tally to Trump, a New York real estate magnate
who has taken a hard line on immigration and has opposed accepting
Syrian refugees.
"I know many of you are deeply disappointed by the results of the
election. I am too, more than I can ever express," Clinton said.
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Hillary Clinton speaks to the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington.
REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
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"But as I said last week, our campaign was never about one person or
even one election. It was about the country we love, and building an
America that is hopeful, inclusive and big hearted."
She said that help for children backed by Republicans and Democrats
was a hopeful sign of both parties working together. The federal
Children's Health Insurance Program, for example, now covers 8
million children and its creation had relied on bipartisan support,
Clinton said.
"For the sake of our children, and our families and our country, I
ask you to stay engaged, stay engaged on every level," Clinton said.
She added, "I am as sure of this as anything I have ever known.
America is still the greatest country in the world, it is still the
place where anyone can beat the odds."
(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Michael Perry)
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