Although Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., currently has the lead in national polls, she would support any other Democratic candidate who wins the presidential nomination, said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Hillary Clinton for President campaign.
"We have never had such a strong lead in the history of presidential campaign history," McAuliffe said of Clinton's lead in national polls. "If the general election was held today, Hillary would win by a large margin."
McAuliffe's speech Wednesday evening in Ward 2 touched on some of the issues all the presidential hopefuls are facing across the nation and the aggressive campaign Clinton is running.
"I'm excited," he said. "What an opportunity to go in and fix the Iraq problem, our dependency on foreign oil and providing adequate health care for underprivileged children."
He cautioned voters to "not underestimate the importance of the female vote in this election." He noted other critical and important events around the world regarding women on the forefront in the world of politics, like the return of former prime minister of Pakistan Benazir Bhutto to her country and India's election of the country's first female president, Pratibha Patil.
The female vote will be important, but voters will not elect Clinton because she is a woman, McAuliffe said.
"They will elect her because she's tough, smart and experienced," he said.
McAuliffe is a very knowledgeable speaker, said Nicole Woods, a junior in the School of Public Affairs and president of AU Students for Hillary.
"He's great, energetic and a wonderful speaker for young people," she said. "He's also very knowledgeable."
McAuliffe spoke pro bono at the event, according to Andrew Price-Gibson, a senior in SPA and treasurer for AU Students for Hillary.
McAuliffe is a great speaker and a great face for the Democratic Party, said Steve Dalton, a sophomore in SPA.
The speech cemented Dalton's support for Clinton, he said.
"With Hillary, you get solutions rather than rhetoric," he said. "She lives by politics and hope, unlike Barack Obama [D-Ill.] who is more talk than action."
McAuliffe's record during his tenure as chairman of the Democratic National Committee included shattering all fundraising records by raising millions of dollars for Democratic candidates across the country. He also created a computer database of more than 2.7 million grassroots donors and a database known as "Demzilla" of more than 170 million potential voters, according to The Hill, a newspaper covering Capital Hill.
McAuliffe recently released his book, "What a Party! My Life Among Democrats: Presidents, Candidates, Donors, Activists, Alligators and Other Wild Animals," which is now at No. 5 on The New York Times Bestseller list and No. 1 on The Washington Post's list. McAuliffe signed copies of his new book for those in attendance.
The event was hosted by AU Students for Hillary and AU College Democrats.
