Clinton presents homeowner protection plan

In a Tuesday campaign stop in Derry, N.H., presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) cast herself as a “modern progressive” who will rescue the volatile homeowners market with increased regulation and expanded affordable housing.

“Today we have a clear choice,” said the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. “We can look at the statistics, wring our hands and continue to do nothing. Or we can do what America has done in times of difficulty: acknowledge that we have a real challenge and confront it head-on with real solutions.”

Clinton added that it is time “to act now with smart, practical solutions to strengthening our housing and mortgage markets.”

The subprime mortgage market plummeted earlier this year and has since dragged down most of the mortgage and lending industries, causing a large increase in the number of foreclosures. Ramifications have been felt throughout the economy, from the stock market to the construction business.

“I believe in shared responsibility and shared prosperity,” Clinton said. “I see myself as a modern progressive. I believe one of the crowning achievements of the early American progressives was reforming our economic system, making changes that made the economy work for more Americans.”

The senator cited this as a fundamental difference between herself and Republicans who “believe in letting everyone fend for him- or herself.”

“I don’t think that is the way America works best,” she added. “I think when we see a problem we need to roll up our sleeves and get together to fix it. And that is the kind of president that I intend to be: reaching toward big goals like universal healthcare, ending the war in Iraq, but also making the economy work for everyone again.”