This is my second installment for Hillary's 'Middle Class Express Bus Tour' in Iowa.

Hillary Clinton campaign is apparently turning its attention to economic issues and particularly to the need of middle class families. WSJ will come out with an article tomorrow. Clinton Turns to Economic Issues

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, campaigning this week on the theme of "restoring the middle class," will propose new savings incentives so more Americans have 401(k) retirement plans; revenue bonds so states can refinance mortgages for low- and middle-income residents faced with home foreclosures; and expanded college scholarships.

The Republicans also have said relatively little about a wave of foreclosures on homeowners struggling with mortgages whose monthly payments have jumped. Mrs. Clinton endorsed several ideas pending in Congress, temporarily raising the caps on Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's portfolios so they can provide more mortgage capital to lenders. She also called for allowing state housing-finance agencies to use proceeds from tax-exempt bond issues to refinance mortgages as well as initiate them.

She clarifies her position on 'baby bond'...

In the interview, Mrs. Clinton confirmed she wouldn't be proposing a $5,000 "baby bond" as a savings incentive.

"I have looked at this and obviously threw it out to have a conversation started on it, but I have not included it in any of my proposals," she said. "My priorities for health-care reform and returning to fiscal responsibility and giving us the investments we need in a new energy future and dealing with global warming...are really more pressing."

I think there are two interesting pieces of news coming out of today's speech. She proposed some concrete ideas on how to deal with impending mortgage crisis. She also distances herself from President Clinton's previous trade policy.

On mortgage crisis:

To deal with problems in the housing market with families facing foreclosure, subprime mortgages, unscrupulous brokers, and mortgage lending abuses Clinton said she has three new plans.

A "Save Our Homes" program would help rescue families refinance "unworkable mortages. The program, which would be in effect for two years, would offer families stable fixed-rate loans they could afford.

The "Realizing the Dream" Program would ensure that responsible borrowers have access to mortgage credit. Right now, bankers are hesitant to write new mortgages even for credit-worthy Americans, she said.

The "Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Act" would crack down on con artists who charge hefty fees for bogus promises that they can help people avoid losing their homes.

CNBC host Jim Cramer seems to like her idea:
"The only person who's addressed this(mortgage crisis) coherently and far intelligently is Hillary... she is the only person who's coming out with a concrete plan."

On trade policy.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iJxq_ hLsf7y4TjdMNPTS2LzWxHXQD8S5A6CO0
Clinton Says Take New Look at Trade Deal

"I think it is time that we assess trade agreements every five years to make sure they're meeting their goals or to make adjustments if they are not," the New York senator said. "And we should start by doing that with NAFTA."

WSJ...

Asked if she would be seen as a free-trade president, as her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was, she replied, "I think I'd be seen as a smart-trade president. I'm really rejecting the labels because I think they've come to mean things that aren't very useful in what we should be talking about going forward."

Hillary Clinton's message seems to resonate well with Iowans. According to DesMoinesRegister, she's drawing big crowd, which is pretty unusual in Iowa these days.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=20071008/NEWS09/7100 8013-1/RSS22

By the time the Democratic presidential candidate stepped out of her "Middle Class Express" bus for an outdoor event in Marshalltown, the sun was out, and a scratchy-voiced Clinton stuck mostly to an optimistic message.

"I believe our country can be what we want it to be again,"Clinton told a crowd of about 1,000 at the courthouse square. "We are a good and great nation and we can meet the challenges of the 21st century. Let's do it together."

She also got lots of coverage from local newspapers.
Clinton says judge her by how middle class fares
http://www.wqad.com/Global/story.asp?S=7 184675&nav=1sW7
Clinton promises return of economic prosperity
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.d ll/article?AID=/20071008/IOWACAUCUS/7100 8009/1011/IOWACAUCUS

"I'm happy she's really focused on the middle-class," said Christine Hornsby of Bloomington Ill., whose family extended a weekend visit to the Iowa City area to catch Clinton's speech. "She's trying to help the average American succeed."

Brian Brummer of Shellsburg remembered those years and was ready to go back.

"I voted voted for Bill Clinton twice and we've been going downhill ever since he left office,'' Brummer said.

Chris Relf, also of Shellsburg, was encouraged when Clinton said she would end Bush's "assault on science." A quadriplegic for 27 years, Relf, wants to see more spinal cord and stem cell research.

Clinton's policy proposals were a ``repudiation of the Bush years,'' according to Ed Huiskamp of Cedar Rapids, and would bring about a ``reversal back to Democratic values.''

Clinton reaches out to middle class
http://www.globegazette.com/articles/200 7/10/08/latest_news/doc470abce389f0c5994 03693.txt

"This should not be zero-sum game where we have winners at the top and losers down the income scale," she said, speaking at Cedar Rapids City Hall.

Notably, Clinton took shots at the North American Free Trade Agreement, a pact signed by her husband when he was president. NAFTA is unpopular with labor leaders who say it has harmed American wages and sent jobs to Mexico.

"This agreement has some serious shortcomings," Clinton said.
...
In Cedar Rapids, audience members said they were confident Clinton would follow through on her promises to organized labor.

"Her husband did, so I think she would too," said Ed Gillick of Cedar Rapids, a retired postal worker.

A Washington Post article shows how deft Clinton has been able to connect with middle and low income voters...
Clinton's Steady Diet of Middle Class
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail /2007/10/08/clintons_steady_diet_of_midd le.html?hpid=topnews

Clinton, dominant in national polls, has toned down her message of "change' over the last few days. Instead, she is rolling across Iowa in a campaign bus with the "Middle Class" emblazoned across the side -- a not so subtle signal of her shift in emphasis.

Clinton is working to demonstrate that she can relate to ordinary voters. And so it was that she wound up at the counter of a Maid Rite fast food joint in between campaign stops, sitting down for a $2.59 loose-meat ground beef sandwich ("a sloppy Joe, without the sloppy," Christie Vilsack, the wife of former Governor Tom Vilsack, explained).

When Clinton first arrived, there were only two patrons in the place. So she wandered the shop, finally sitting down in a booth with Stuart Appelbaum, president of the department store workers union, who had flown to Iowa from New York to travel with Clinton on the campaign trail.

Finally, after chatting up members of her own entourage for the cameras, Clinton settled back down to eat alongside Vilsack and Ruth Harkin, the wife of Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa. Then they finally discovered an actual Iowan, waitress Anita Esterday, who told the three women about raising two sons as a single mother and working three shifts to pay bills. "I wasn't expecting this," said Esterday, who had just started her job that day.
Clinton retold Esterday's story at her next stop. "Her story was a perfect illustration of what I was talking about," Clinton said. "We've got to get our economy moving again so it creates opportunity for hard-working Americans."