11-year-old Dalton Hatfield sold his bike and video games to donate more than $400 to her
By Sarah Wheaton
The New York Times
May 21, 2008
Excerpts below
Senator Barack Obama is usually the candidate known for stirring up
youth enthusiasm. But Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton has her own
poster boy: Dalton Hatfield
Dalton, 11, answered the phone himself when we called his home in
McAndrews, Ky. An aspiring politician, he speaks clearly, deliberately
and authoritatively - and any contemporary politician would admire his
ability to stay on-message.
"I believe Mr. Obama is a very good speaker, and I believe that he
could run our country, also but I really believe that Hillary has very
good views on specific issues that are important to this election," he
said, including "the war, the economy and health care."
Dalton said he was driven to donate about two months ago. "I saw that
her funds were running low," he said.
"I just saw so much that I did not need such as like my video games,
and I thought, 'What can I do with them?'"
He sold them, as well as his bike, and also collected other donations.
He got to tell former President Bill Clinton at an event two weeks
ago, and Mrs. Clinton on Monday.
"He was speechless, and he almost got tears, he was very emotional,"
Dalton said of his favorite president's reaction.
He said he was "nervous" meeting Mrs. Clinton.
"I believe that she helped her husband run the country and that's why
I'm supporting her today," he said.
But he appears to have more than two friends. A few days after he met
Mr. Clinton, a group of elected officials from nearby Mingo County in
West Virginia raised the money to replace Dalton's video games and
bike. "Actually, it's a lot better than my old one," he said.
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