Clinton Urges Diplomacy With Iran

Democratic Presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., hosts a town hall meeting at Wilson Senior High School Saturday, Oct. 13, 2007, in Florence, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastian) (Mary Ann Chastain - AP)

FLORENCE, S.C. -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Saturday that President Bush has made a mistake in failing to push direct diplomacy with Iran despite the increasing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Asked at a campaign appearance what the United States should do in the event Iran blockades Mideast oil, the New York senator and presidential hopeful said, "I will make it very clear to the Iranians that there are very serious consequences attached to their actions."

Speaking at a town hall meeting with some 300 people at a high school in South Carolina, she such consequences would be in the realm of sanctions. Clinton again defended her vote in the Senate for a resolution labeling Iran's Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist force, disputing critics who said her vote presaged support for war.

Clinton said the was vote was consistent with her negotiating strategy. "They are supporting sending weapons into Iraq right now that are used against our troops," she said, adding that the resolution gives an opening to future penalties and "leverage when we negotiate with them."

Responding to a woman's question about such a hypothetical Iranian blockade, Clinton said it would be "devastating to the world economy."

She said she would "immediately open diplomatic negotiations with Iran over all of the issues we disagree with them on," and said she thought such talks would be indispensable to American credibility in the region, particularly if tougher actions had to follow.

"And I think that President Bush has made an error in not having that process, in not having our diplomats being in constant contact and negotiation," she said.

In another development, Clinton on Saturday won the endorsement of the black wing of the Alabama Democratic Party by capitalizing on long friendships that Barack Obama couldn't match. The Alabama Democratic Conference endorsed Clinton by an overwhelming voice vote moments after she addressed the audience of some 700. No other candidate was nominated for an endorsement.

An ADC member, Madison County Commissioner Bob Harrison of Huntsville, said that Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., was the sentimental favorite for him and many others, but Clinton was the practical choice.

"This is the political reality of what the outcome is going to be for the Democratic nomination," he said.

On Friday, she was endorsed by Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., one of the leaders of the Martin Luther King Jr. civil rights movement.