After Hillary’s husband accused "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace of engaging in a "right wing hit job," and the left wing blog campaign to boycott the Fox News debates, co-host Gretchen Carlson asked such hard hitting questions like "how do you keep yourself going everyday?"
Co-host Steve Doocy asked the tough question of what her name would be if she pulls off a victory in Iowa.
"Your husband a couple of days ago said it would take a miracle for you to win in Iowa. Now, if you do come back, they can't really call you the 'comeback kid' because I think that title is already taken by somebody at your house. Would you be the 'comeback Senator,' would you be the 'comeback gal'? Have you thought about that yet?"
Throughout the interview, Senator Clinton gave long uninterrupted statements plugging her issues and sappy campaign trail stories. The entire transcript is below.
GRETCHEN CARLSON: Already known as one of the most powerful women in politics, she's now set her sights on the White House. Can she take the first step towards the presidency and win Iowa in January?
STEVE DOOCY: Joining us now for the first time ever on "Fox and Friends," we are pleased to welcome New York Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. And it looks like, Senator, you are in a diner in Des Moines, is that right?
SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY): I wish you guys were here. We're in the Drake Diner. It's a famous place here in Des Moines, having a great time early in the morning. And I'm glad to be on your show.
DOOCY: Fantastic. I actually used to work in Des Moines and I know exactly where you're at. Now tell us about, I know somebody right now at the airport is gassing up, the Hill-o-copter. What is that?
CLINTON: [laughing] Well, it is what it says. It's a helicopter we dubbed the "Hill-o-copter." We're trying to do a 99 county blitz in five days, get around Iowa. Not only me, but a lot of friends and supporters, people I've known my entire life, people that I've helped along the way, to make the case for my candidacy. And of course we've got a great boost yesterday with "The Des Moines Register" editorial, which laid out the reasons why they believe that I'm ready to be president, that I am proven and tested and will begin on day one to get the job done.
CARLSON: Hillary, we've asked a lot of people to e-mail us in questions for you today. And a lot of people wrote this particular question.
CLINTON: Oh my goodness! [laughing]
CARLSON: I know! Well, actually this is a good one and it's kind of a general question, but what do you believe is the most important issue facing Americans right now?
CLINTON: Well, let me take two. One is ending the war in Iraq in the most expiditious and responsible way that we possibly can, which I will do as soon as I become president. And health care, which people talk to me about everywhere. I went door to door in New Hampshire on Saturday. And I probably talk to thirty people, including kids. And everybody talked about healthcare. Their premiums have gone up. They're not sure they're going to be able to continue affording it. They lost it because they lost their job or changed jobs. Across Iowa, yesterday, again the same story, lots of people concerned about what's going to happen to them. So I'm going to tackle that as well, and I've got a plan that I think is a uniquely American way of making sure we get quality affordable healthcare for everyone.
DOOCY: You know, something else, Senator, that people are really worried about is the global War on Terror. How would you fight the War on Terror?
CLINTON: Well, I take it very seriously because, obviously, as a Senator from New York you all know that we lived through that horrific attack on 9-11. And I have devoted myself as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and my work as a New York Senator to try to get our country to be as well prepared and vigilant as possible. We've made progress, but we have a long way to go. We still haven't done everything we need to do here at home to keep our, you know, our country safe. And I will attack that issue first thing. And I will put competent, qualified people in a lot of these positions. I mean, you know, we have a Federal Emergency Management Agency that we know was a national disgrace. And that's because we haven't seen quality people who are competent to get the job done and we need to do that again. And obviously around the world, we've got to have more, you know, allies in the war against terrorism because, ultimately, we need people who are siding with us in countries across the globe, who if they know somebody, you know, down the road, who is, you know, involved in some kind of terrorist training or there's a bomb factory at the end of their street, they're going to want to turn those people in. Because we've got to have a partnership in order to deter and defeat the terrorists. And I think I can do a better job getting people around the world once again to feel common cause with America.
CARLSON: Senator, when we wake up really early and we hear that there is yet another poll out there, and we try and digest all of the numbers, I can only imagine what the candidates like yourself go through in looking through all of these changing numbers. What do you make of the Barack Obama surge as of late?
CLINTON: You know Gretchen, I really don't pay a lot of attention to that. Maybe it's because I don't have to get up, you know, before the crack of dawn every morning and talk about it. I have a much longer view about this campaign like I always have. You know, campaigns are like life. You know, some days are good, some days you got some challenges. You got to get up the next day, overcome them. That's how I run my life, that's how I run my campaigns. And I feel really, really good about where my campaign is. I was obviously honored and thrilled by that "Des Moines Register" editorial, because it laid out exactly what I believe the issue to be. Who is best equipped, experienced and ready to make the kind of changes that Americans from across the political spectrum now not only need to make, but are anxious to make to start rolling up our sleeves and making it. And I believe that I am that person, so I just keep focused on my campaign about what I want to do to help people, the vision that I have for American and the plans that I've put out there, and what I would to do hit that ground running on the very first day.
DOOCY: Sure. Senator, right now in Iowa you and Barack Obama are neck and neck. Your husband a couple of days ago said it would take a miracle for you to win in Iowa. Now, if you do come back, they can't really call you the "comeback kid" because I think that title is already taken by somebody at your house. Would you be the "comeback Senator," would you be the "comeback gal"? Have you thought about that yet?
CLINTON: [Laughing] I will leave that to you. You all have a great way with a term or phrase, but what I'm going to do is to just keep working hard every day, knocking on doors, making phone calls, talking to people. I feel very good about where we were. This is always been a challenge. I'm going to start on January 3rd with the caucuses in Iowa, go all of the way until February 5th. Because at the end of the campaign what you need are enough delegates to actually get you the nomination. And I believe that I will get the nomination and that I will be the next president.
CARLSON: We've asked this question of so many of the other presidential candidates, Mrs. Clinton, which is how do you keep yourself going every day? Because obviously, this is a grueling task that you've put yourself in front of.
CLINTON: Right. You know Gretchen, what keeps me going are the people who invest their hope and their confidence in me. And, you know, I'll give you a quick story. I was in Sioux City a couple of weeks ago to talk about my plans for dealing with Autism, something that has really increased across our country. One in every 150 kids are going to be diagnosed with it, four times as many boys. And I've worked on this for many years, and I think as president, I need to tackle it. And I called on a woman, and she was in the back of the room, and it looked like she had a hat on. Well, it turned out she had breast cancer, she had lost her hair, and she had a friend paint her head with my campaign button. And she was at that event, because she wanted to tell me she hasn't given up. And she is investing her hope in me that I will do more to fight cancer, that I will help her two children, who have autism. That's what keeps me going. You know, I don't see this as a kind of horse race, who's up, who's down. I see this through the prism of my 35 years of experience. What matters to me at the end of the day, is have I done something to help somebody else? That's how I judge myself and that's what I'm going to keep score by, that's how I'm going to try to be the kind of president that Americans will know gets up everyday, and worries and thinks about you.
DOOCY: Alright. Well, for the people of Iowa over the next five days. If they see something going through the sky, it could be the Hill-o-copter, so go ahead and wave.
CLINTON: [laughting] That's right! So give a wave!
