Clinton aims Phila. talk straight at working people

Under a nearly full moon and against the neon green backdrop of the Mayfair Diner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton last night spoke to the heart, soul, and thinned bank accounts of many workers in the Northeast.

Using the last of her spent voice at a rally, Clinton hailed the power of unions, pledged solidarity with the truck drivers, autoworkers, veterans and teachers, and promised that as president, she would not allow tax breaks "for any company that sends a single job out of Pennsylvania and overseas."

They loved that. But they really went wild when she recalled dealing with detoured traffic on I-95 a few weeks ago and asked, "Wouldn't it be better if we put hardworking Americans back to work building roads and bridges?"

"She's for the working person," said George Dolbow, a 45-year-old glazier and member of Local 252 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. He came to the diner with his 16-month-old, 140-pound St. Bernard, Jagger, who sported several Hillary stickers.

The rally was Clinton's final appearance of the day in the region yesterday. She started with a speech and a question-and-answer session at Haverford College. She later taped an appearance on The Colbert Report at the Annenberg Center before heading to the Mayfair.

Much of the day was geared toward the under-30 voter, and Clinton received warm receptions from the Main Line to the Northeast. But some of the crowds contained young Democrats who had come to see the celebrity who in many cases was their runner-up choice for president.

Sonia Williams and Nikhil Dhingra, both seniors at Haverford College, waited more than two hours in a crowd of students on the sun-lavished lawn in front of Founders Hall to reach across a yellow rope barrier and shake Clinton's hand.

Neither, however, plans to vote for her on Tuesday.

"She's my second choice," Dhingra said. "She and Obama have similar policies, so it comes down to personality. Young people click with him."

The Colbert cable-TV show, which was taping its final appearance in Philadelphia, afforded a bit of comic relief for Clinton in the closing days of her Pennsylvania campaign against Sen. Barack Obama, who campaigned yesterday in North Carolina.

At the Annenberg Center, Clinton waited off stage as the show's host, Stephen Colbert, noticed that the set's backdrop picture showing the Liberty Bell failed to appear.

Colbert called out for help but was told that all the technicians had left.

In stepped Clinton, offering to lend a hand.

"Are you using a digital or analog truck?" she asked in a series of technical queries. "Try toggling the input," she instructed, and the picture returned.

She nodded in approval, and as she turned to leave, Clinton quipped: "Call me any time. . . . Call me at 3 a.m."

Also in Philadelphia, she stopped by the Kimmel Center to make brief remarks at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia at its Hear O Israel dinner.

Clinton attended the Haverford event with her daughter, Chelsea, and mother, Dorothy Rodham.

The event was held in an elegant college building with a marble fireplace and bounteous ferns. Many women in the audience had their daughters with them, including Kerri Wilkerson, an accountant, and her 4-year-old daughter, Sonya. The Clinton campaign spotted them holding posters supporting the senator at the National Constitution Center on Wednesday and invited them to attend the Haverford event and introduce Chelsea.

Holding her daughter on her hip, Kerri Wilkerson tried to coax Sonya to announce Chelsea Clinton's name. Sonya balked, then tried to lick the microphone. Her mother gave up, then announced Chelsea herself.

The senator spoke on issues that included experimenting with paid family leave, funding research to find a cure for breast cancer, immigration reform and literacy education.

During the question period, only one was asked by a man, Samuel Leath, a sophomore at Haverford. He wanted to know what to say when he canvasses voters on her behalf.

Said Clinton: "Oh, just knock on the door and say she is really nice . . . or you could say she is not as bad as you think."

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to hold a town-hall meeting on Iraq at 11 a.m. today at Radnor High School.

Sen. Barack Obama is to appear at an outdoor rally at 8 p.m. today at Independence National Historical Park.EndText

See more online coverage of the campaign, including slide shows, at http://go.philly.com/paprimary EndText