First Lady Draws Raves In Jamaica

They whistled, cheered and stamped their feet when the first First Lady in history to visit Jamaica put in an appearance last week to help the Brooks Senior Center celebrate its 26th anniversary.
Smartly dressed in a blue suit and flaming orange blouse, Hillary Rodham Clinton strode out on the stage of the 60- and-over club as Secret Service agents took their places in the hall.
Her entrance was greeted by a chorus of "Aint She Sweet" sung by a crowd that had been notified only a day earlier that she would be visiting the senior center.
In a speech reminiscent of her stirring address at the recent Democratic Convention in Los Angeles, Clinton drove home the issues uppermost in the minds of her admiring audience.
She promised cut-rate prescription medicine for seniors, beefed-up Social Security, affordable health care, accountable HMOs and quality teachers for improved schools.
"They (the Republicans) want us to forget the Bush years when the economy badly faltered," she said. "We dont want to go back to that. Do we?"
Her audience shouted back, "no way."
In a pointed reference to skyrocketing salaries for CEOs, she called for "bonuses for deserving teachers."
Clintons comment drew the biggest round of applause of the afternoon.
The Senate candidate, acknowledging Congressman Gregory Meeks, said he was joining her husband on a "vital mission" to Nigeria.
Meeks told the audience, "we know who to stick by just as we stuck by for David Dinkins. I know Mrs. Clinton is going to do the right thing."
The First Lady said that her hectic schedule of personal appearances was a case "of having a good time. I get a big burst of energy from this gathering."
As her speech wound down, the audience was told that Clinton had agreed to shake the hand of everyone in the room. This precipitated a roar of approval. She also posed for pictures with members of the audience.
Ruth E. Brown, director of the Brooks Senior Center, called the Clinton appearance "the most exciting thing thats happened in our 26-year history." The facility is funded by the New York City Department of the Aging.
She said that her leadership worked feverishly to contact members about the Clinton meeting.
"With only a days notice," she said, "we depended upon Assemblywoman Vivian Cook and Democratic district leaders to fill the room."
They did.