With her presidential potential adding to the pomp and circumstance of commencement day, Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged graduates of Agnes Scott College to spread the cause of women's rights and education around the world.
As speculation about a possible 2008 presidential bid has increased, Clinton has been seen as taking a more centrist position on several issues, including foreign policy. Last week, she shared a podium with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Republican, to endorse legislation that would streamline record-keeping in the nation's health care system.
While it's a long way to the next election, Clinton's moves have sparked concern among Republicans. Sydicated columnist Robert Novak reported over the weekend that the inner circle of House Republicans now views her as having "a virtual lock" on the '08 Democratic nomination.
Clinton received a tumultuous welcome when she walked onto an outdoor stage for the Saturday morning commencement excercises. College President Mary Brown Bullock said that, despite many previous distinguished graduation speakers at Agnes Scott, "it's safe to say that none has created the buzz and sense of excitement" that surrounded Clinton's visit.
"Everyone was screaming and jumping up and down. It was mass hysteria," graduate Christina Elizabeth Lee of Alexandria, Va., said later of the news that Clinton would speak to her class at the small, women's liberal arts college in Decatur. Clinton, who also attended a Friday evening fundraiser in Atlanta, took no questions from the media but met with faculty at a reception after the ceremonies and posed for a group shot with the graduates. Sitting on the back row, Lee, a political science and English major, shouted "Clinton-Obama 2008!" when the shot was finished. Not everyone was as thrilled by Clinton's presence, to judge by one graduate who had a "W" sticker, from President Bush's 2004 campaign, on the top of her cap.
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