Elton gig for Clinton

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Elton gig raises cash for Clinton

Sir Elton and Mrs Clinton
Pop star Sir Elton John has raised $2.5m (£1.3m) for Hillary Clinton's US presidential campaign with a concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall.

Former president Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea joined the former first lady at the gig.

Senator Clinton, who is fighting Barack Obama to become the Democratic party's candidate, said: "I'm still standing" - a nod to Sir Elton's 1983 hit song.

The singer told the crowd: "There is no-one more qualified to lead America."

He also accused people who think Mrs Clinton is an unsuitable candidate of being sexist.

"I'm amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some of the people in this country, and I say to hell with them," he told the crowd.

"I love you Hillary, I'll be there for you."

The set included Border Song and Candle In The Wind
Dressed in a tail suit emblazoned with colourful patches, Sir Elton embraced Mrs Clinton before launching into a number of hits, including Your Song and Benny and the Jets.

The benefit concert was announced last month in an e-mail to Mrs Clinton's supporters, signed by Sir Elton.

"There is nothing I like better than throwing a party for a good friend," he said.

The 5,000 tickets sold for up to $2,300 (£1,163), the limit for an individual's contribution to a candidate.

Mrs Clinton's next challenge on the campaign trail comes in Pennsylvania, which is holding its state primary election on 22 April.

With Senator Obama in the lead for the nomination, she needs a big victory in the state to keep her candidacy alive.

The latest count of pledged delegates to the Democratic party's national convention in August, according to Associated Press, puts Mr Obama at 1,638 and Mrs Clinton at 1,502.

A total of 2,024 delegates is needed to win the Democratic nomination.

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Elton John: Sexism to blame for Clinton's lag in polls

A bitter Sir Elton John thinks America's sexism may be sinking his friend Hillary Rodham Clinton.

John, a knighted British subject, said that gender discrimination is behind Clinton's problems in the polls as he addressed 5,000 Clinton supporters at Radio City Musical Hall last night in an event that raised $2.5 million for the cash-strapped campaign.

"I never cease to be amazed by the misogynistic attitudes of some people in this country," said John, wearing a spangled black evening coat over a vermilion silk shirt. "I say to hell with them. ... I love you, Hillary, I'll always be there for you."

John's comments echo the former first lady's remarks to National Public Radio Tuesday, when she said there was "a double standard" in media coverage of the race.

Minutes before Elton John took the stage, Bill Clinton struck an equally defiant tone, chiding TV commentators who are counting out his wife because she trails Barack Obama in delegates and the popular vote.

"You did not come here in vain," he said, flanked by his wife and daughter, Chelsea. "She can win the nomination and if she wins the nomination, she'll win the general election."

Clinton's campaign raised about $20 million in March -- about half of Obama's monthly haul. Supporters, who snaked around the historic theater for hours before the event, paid between $125 and $2,300 to hear the singer-songwriter perform hits like "Rocket Man" and "Your Song."

John, who appeared somber, also railed against Ronald Reagan for his slow response to the AIDS crisis in the 1980s. In October, Elvis Costello -- another Brit -- headlined Clinton's 60th birthday fundraiser at Manhattan's Beacon Theater.

Clinton spent the first part of her day in Pennsylvania, reiterating her opposition to the Colombia free trade agreement after the revelation that her husband backs the pact -- and was paid $800,000 by free trade advocates to give speeches in the country.

"I have a long record of being on a different attitude toward trade than my husband does," Clinton told reporters in Aliquippa, in one of the rare instances of public disagreement between the couple. "I don't think any married couple I know agrees on everything, and we disagree on this."

Free trade is a critical issue in Pennsylvania, a state that has seen many of its manufacturing jobs migrate overseas since the 1970s. Clinton says she raised concerns about the North American Free Trade Agreement passed by her husband despite publicly supporting the increasingly unpopular pact.

"The Colombia free trade deal, in my view, is not appropriate because of the history of suppression and targeted killings of labor organizers in Colombia," she added. "There is an argument that there has been some improvement and change by the Colombian government, but it is not enough for me."

The former president, appearing at a Manhattan steakhouse before the fundraiser celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Northern Irish peace accord, refused to answer reporters' questions about the topic.

"I'm here for the Irish," said Clinton, when asked about his position on the deal. His face reddened when a journalist asked if he regretted taking the money in Colombia.

"Nice try," he said, walking away.

Any thoughts?

[Summer]

I believe it is sexism too! And I think that it is really too bad. I want to see a woman in the white house really bad! I think Hillary could do a good job myself. But I am not sure that she will make it. We will have to see.

Personally I think that it would be best if a non-partisan got elected, but we are many years away from that happening.