I definitely felt like a “fan-girl” when Senator Hilary Clinton strode on stage, flanked by security. Here was the woman I had seen broadcasted on television and had heard criticized and praised alike on the radio. I repressed a squeal. I stole a glance at my fellow Girl Scouts of Troop 35 – Suzanne Bell, the mother of senior Joanna Bell, treated us to the “Hillary for President” ‘dessert’ at the CrownePlaza Cabana in Redwood City on March 25.

I confess I was victim to the rumors of Clinton’s forceful ambition and intensity before I actually heard her speak. Although I am a staunch Democrat, I believed she was unrealistic in her goals and too demanding in presence. Perhaps that was just because I fell subconsciously into the societal trap of fearing powerful women. I doubted that she could win over enough Republicans to become the next president.

Clinton contradicted my pre-conceived notions of her scary ineptitude. The senator was calming and reassuring as I listened to her voice filter through the microphone.

“The intensity of this election is much hotter [than it should be this early],” Clinton said. “I feel in part it’s because people are finished with President Bush, which is totally understandable for all of us here.”

Yes, indeed. But I was disconcerted that Clinton spoke so accusatorily at a public event designed to win her votes. I soon realized that the United States is in such a position that it’s time for both Democrats and Republicans who aren’t happy with what has been going on, to speak out.

To add personality to the speech, Clinton reminisced about being a naive little girl growing up in Arkansas. She told a story of when President Eisenhower called on America’s schoolrooms to focus on math and science in response to the outbreak of fear from the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. She believed that the president had personally called up her principal and told her to especially watch that girl Hillary to make sure that she studied.

This anecdote, however, lends something more than a personal touch to her campaign. It demonstrates that Americans have lost the blind faith in the government she felt under former presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.

She linked her memory of trust to after the catastrophe of Sept. 11. “We didn’t get any summons for a higher mission,” Clinton said. “I thought he [President Bush] would start to cut down on foreign oil, take the environmental change seriously, enhance education… And what did our president do? He asked us to go shopping. It was so ridiculous you have to laugh.”

I felt that Clinton was finally getting closer to the essence of emotion in Americans’ hearts when she said, “most Americans feel they are invisible to the American government. They need to feel that the government cares again for them if we’re going to make progress.”

That, in my opinion, is just what we Americans need to do: progress. The real point is that the United States is no longer a safe haven away from everyone else. We have to share this world with others whether we like their politics or not. Bush turned his back on America’s old allies and now we’re paying for it.

Clinton made the idea of troubled alliances stand out for me when she said that one of her plans when she becomes president is to deploy her husband, “who is one of the most popular men in the world right now” along with other important officials, to countries around the world to announce to their leaders and their people that “we’re back.” While she said this with a touch of humor, her intent was serious. Because the truth is that “a lot of work needs to be done to fix what has gone wrong; you cannot defeat that kind of threat [terrorism] on your own,” Clinton said.

Her platform includes a “triple wind” which consists of increasing energy security with no foreign oil, acting upon global climate change, creating new jobs, creating universal Medicare and enhancing education starting with universal preschool.

While the senator’s plans are idyllic, they lack a practical quality. I wonder how she can possibly come up with the funds necessary for reform, because the national debt is currently 70% of the Gross Domestic Product, nearly the same as at the end of former president George Bush Sr.’s term, according to 2007 Budget Data on zFacts.com. Apparently the old saying is true: the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Of course the major issue for this campaign is the war in Iraq, which according to Senator Clinton, was “one of the most irresponsible actions of the president in history.” Her acknowledgement of this comes a long way from the paradox of her initially voting for the Iraq war. When questioned in regards to that, she replied that she was misguided by the administration. Clinton did not touch on the specifics of her plan to get out of Iraq, but she did say that her main objective was just that: get out.

I would say that her campaign in general seems sound; however, there are major obstacles she must overcome. Several other intent listeners appeared to agree when one woman representing CISCO asked Clinton about how she planned to respond to the issue some people might have with her being female.

“We’re at a point that I think people are going to make judgments on an individual basis, and that would be such a breakthrough for America,” Clinton said. “Surprisingly a poll revealed that the attribute in a candidate that most bothered people was age.”

I’m sure that “surprise” is a bit of an understatement, but Clinton did make an interesting point about the issue of the imminent battle between Democrats and Republicans for President.

“At the end of the day the decision to vote for President comes down to a gut clench,” Clinton said. “It doesn’t matter who we nominate, because they [the Republican Party] will come down on them [the Democratic candidate] anyway.”

In my opinion this ambivalence is a hyperbole. The point of the primaries is to elect a Democratic candidate, or Republican, who will successfully outrun the other party’s nominee.

Clinton did, however, acknowledge her competitive plan. “If they attack, you have to fight back. Democrats need to talk to people who don’t already agree with them [if they are going to win enough states].”

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Clinton. She was not the terrifying woman I had thought; she was serene throughout her speech. At the end she admitted to the rapt audience: “I may not be the person who gets your heart racing, but if you want someone who will be with you when times are hard, I’m there.”

Nothing can end a political speech better than a little confidence, and Clinton did just that.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I could win,” Clinton said with a smile.