We’re a minute away from 15 minutes into waiting for Hillary Clinton to take the stage in Hillsboro. Keep refreshing after the cut for all the liveblogging action you can handle.

(Originally posted at 8:49 am) The Mercury Presidential team is in Hillsboro (!?!?) this morning, covering Sen. Hillary Clinton’s visit to Liberty High School’s gymnasium.

She’s slated to go on in 40 minutes, and the gym is already nearly full—but there’s no way the crowd outside is all going to get in. The line snakes back and forth enough times that it looks like the crowd could circle this massive suburban high school—it’s blocks and blocks long.

Inside, people are patiently sitting in bleachers and folding chairs, and there’s a stage in the middle of the room for Clinton, who’s going to hold a town hall.

Whenever the cameras behind me turn on, and a TV reporter starts filing a report, a gaggle of women between the press and the stage turn around and wave their arms and yell “YEAH HILLARY!!!” They very much want to be on TV.

The soundtrack here is markedly different from that at Barack Obama’s rock-driven Memorial Stadium event a few weeks ago. We’re currently being serenaded by Des’ree with “You Gotta Be.”

We’ll be audio recording the event and posting it later, and I’ll do my best to liveblog all the action below!

Our photographer Chris Ryan just got through security and into the auditorium. He reports that the line outside might have more people in it than the 3,000 or so stuffed into this gym. I mean, that makes sense—if 8,000 people want to see you, you should make more than half of them go home without seeing you.

The crowd is now on their feet—because Gloria Estefan's "Get on Your Feet" is playing, naturally—and they're chanting for Hillary with two minutes before showtime. The topic of today's town hall is "Solutions for the American Economy," and there are lots of folks iin the audience waving signs that say "JOBS!" Other have signs that say "We've Got Your Back, HILLARY!"

My favorite person here is a middle-aged guy in ill-fitting gray track pants and a Drake law sweatshirt adored with a few Clinton stickers, wandering around screaming "Hillary! Hillary!" at the top of his lungs. He stomps when he does this.

One of the women who was trying to profess her love for Hillary on camera has apparently grown impatient: "We're waiting for you, Hillary!" she just yelled.

An announcer just asked the people who are in here to squeeze in even tighter, so they can let more people in. The people in the folding chairs can't do much, but the bleacher crowd is doing an admirable job sitting on top of each other.

The Mercury's Andrew R Tonry found a cache of food in the press room, apparently provided by campaign volunteers. He's munching on a burrito filled with "eggy breakfast stuff." He says it could be the best burrito he's ever had. By way of contrast, the Obama campaign fed the press continental breakfast style with bagels and fruit, catered.

It's 9:50, and a campaign staffer named Katie is up at the podium asking people to call five people with their "free weekend minutes" to stump for Hillary. The campaign has handed out sheets with names and numbers of people who live within six miles of this high school—each person has a bar code next to their name, too—so strangers can call RIGHT NOW and ask them to support Clinton.

"Hillary is close!" Katie says, claiming that an insta-phone bank like this has never been done before. "Let's finish up these calls so we can get Hillary in here!" The campaign office will open at NW 5th and Couch on Monday, Katie says. "Oregon for Hillary has a home."

Governor Ted Kulongoski, Congresswoman Darlene Hooley and Clinton are finally here, working the crowd on their way to the stage.

"Welcome, welcome!" says Hooley. "I'm delighted to be here today. This is going to be the first time in decades that in a presidential primary Oregon matters! You matter!"

"This could be the place where we elect the first woman President of the United States! People ask me 'Are you for Hillary because she's a woman?' Well, I like that she's a woman, but that's not the only reason I'm voting for her. She's the only one who has the experience to lead us out of this disaster" that Bush put us in. "How many of you yearn for the day that we experienced prosperity?" How many want universal health care? How many want a president that cares for all of us, instead of a privileged few? Hooley asks.

"There's only one person who has the know how and the experience and the plan on day one to make that happen, and that is Hillary Clinton!" Hooley says. "Hillary has been a great friend of mine, and a great friend to Oregon for many years. I am so proud to be here today before all of you. Before we get to my friend and our next president, Hillary Rodham Clinton, I want to turn this over to another great friend, great governor, Governor Kulongoski."

"Hillary, Hillary, Hillary!" Kulongoski is yelling. "I want to thank you all for being here today... but most of all I want to tell you why I am here... to tell you why I'm supporting Senator Clinton, and why I hope... we all know the reason to vote for a person for president is a personal decision." People look at who is best for themselves, "best for Oregon, and best for America. And that person is Senator Hillary Clinton for me."

"Let's get some things out of the way. Senator Clinton is the smartest candidate of any candidate running. And she's the most experienced. But I want to tell you, when I say the most experienced, it's not just about political experience, it's real life experience that identifies with each and every one of us... and she wants to make our lives better."

"I believe that Hillary Clinton from day one is prepared to be the commander in chief of this country... to make us proud of who we are as Americans," Kulongoski says. "Hillary Clinton will be the voice for the working people of America. She has a comprehensive economic plan that is built around restoring the middle class of America. She wants to be the voice for the working people of America. She wants every child in this country to have health insurance. She has a plan for making sure that every man woman and child in American has the health care that they need."

"Senator Clinton has been a champion for a sustainable economy... and for addressing the issues of climate change. She will lead the fight for America on global warming. I will promise you this... that Senator Hillary Clinton will never give up. She will never give up being the voice for the working people of America. She will never give up fighting to end this war in Iraq."

"She will never give up fighting to make America the place we all want it to be and believe it can be. I want you to join with me in welcoming the next president of the United States of America, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton!"

And the crowd goes wild.

"Hello Oregon!" Clinton says, smiling. "Thank you so much. Boy, it is so great. I am as excited as you are... that your votes will be counted to pick the next president."

"I want to thank you, thank you so much. It is a great pleasure for me to be here with your governor... I admire his leadership, I am very humbled by his life story, his incredible commitment... to the people of his state. And there's another reason I like him—he's an enthusiastic and good bowler." She challenged Obama to a bowl off on April Fool's Day, "but I'm not much of a bowler..." If Obama had accepted, "I would have sent in Ted, my ringer." She's promised him he can be the first bowler in the White House bowling alley.

"I also am so pleased to be here with Darleen. Congresswoman Hooley has been so effective for her district and for her state. I am grateful to here because she was one of the leaders in the Congress who stood up against the Bush administration and said time and time again, you are sending our sons and daughters to war without giving them the body armor they need and the armored vehicles they deserve. And taking the Bush administration on over veterans health care funding... and I am sure that I will have a chance to say this in her district as we campaign across Oregon... she's recently announced her retirement... I for one will miss her." If Clinton wins, she says, "Hooley will keep working on behalf of Oregon and on behalf of America." Cabinet post for Hooley?

"It's great to be here in the Hillsboro School District with all of you. One of the great privileges of running for president is you travel all across the country." Yesterday she was in Memphis, "standing on the balcony where Dr. Martin Luther King was shot 40 years ago."

"Having a chance to be influenced by him, his vision of nonviolence... for people to have a chance to live up to their own dreams. I remember where I was when I heard the news that he had been killed. I was a junior in college, and I was just devastated. Those of us old enough to remember 1968 remember that it was a year of incredible shocks. Dr. King's death, Robert Kennedy's death. The escalating and greater movement toward war in Vietnam. But because of the personal sacrifice and moral leadership of Dr. King and so many other who got outside of their comfort zone... who endured the beatings and the gassings and the jailings, I am here today looking out at this crowd, seeing this little baby, on her back a sign saying 'born a Democrat,' knowing that she and every child here and every child across America will grow up taking for granted now that a woman or an African American can be president of the United States."

"As I said yesterday and would say again and again and again, the best way to honor Dr. King's legacy is to fulfill it. There is so much work left to be done. [There are] so many people who don't have the tools to fulfill their own lives... college out of financial reach of families... we may for the first time in our history leave our country worse off than when we found it. I'm running for president because I believe we can not only keep the faith... but actually solve the problems... and seize the opportunities of this time."

"The stakes are huge, and everyone knows that we have to change direction. It's a question of whom we choose. There are now three of us left vying for the presidency. And I believe that this is a special moment, not just in the history of the Democratic party, but in our country. We have ten contests still to go. And those who want to end this election, which is so close, it's... closer than we've seen in decades and decades. It would be like saying we've got two minutes left to go on the clock, let's quit. Well. One thing I hope you know about me is that I don't quit. I don't quit on you, and I don't quit on us."

"And I offer a very clear choice in this election. I am a fighter, and I happen to believe, I believe this country is worth fighting for. That is what I intend to do. And I also believe you don't make difficult, consequential change merely by wishing for it or hoping for it. I believe you get up every day and work for it... that's what all of you have done as well."

"So I am competing hard across all of these states that have yet to vote, and people say to me, how do you keep going? And I often tell them stories about what happens to me as I travel around our country. Invariably people will come up to me and ask me for my help, or thank me or thank my husband for something that benefited them... [In California] I was at an event, and there was a woman in the crowd... she had something for me. And she showed me a picture of this handsome young man in his military uniform shaking hands with President Truman. Her father had received the medal of honor... the highest honor... and on the other side of the picture was the citation describing what this then young private first class had done in Okinawa... I was overcome by the description of his heroism. [The woman said] my father isn't well now, but he asked me to find this and bring it to you... and he wrote on this picture, Senator Clinton, keep fighting for us. And yes I will."

"I will also keep fighting to make sure that the votes of the people in Florida and Michigan are counted as well. 2.3 million voters turned out, it was the highest turnout in a primary in either state. Now some people say the vote should... be discounted. Well, I have a different view. The popular vote has already been counted... has been tallied by the secretary of state in each state... and the question is whether those votes will be honored... as we move to put together the strongest campaign... we cannot afford to give up on Michigan or Florida to do that." (She talked fast through that one - sorry!)

"So I'm here to meet with you and talk with you and hopefully make my case. This is my first trip in a campaign of first... because I believe that the next president has to be ready on day one, to be commander in chief of our country and chief executive of our economy. We have to have a president ready to offer those solutions, and then to build for a positive and optimistic future that is in our reach. For me, I will take on the special interests who by my calculations have been given about $55 billion in tax breaks, and instead let's start offering tax breaks... $100 billion a year... to middle class families... for your family's needs. We have to address the housing and credit crises. I hope they're addressed before January 2009, because it seems apparent we are sliding into a recession. The job numbers... were discouraging. This administration can find [billions of dollars] to bail out Bear Stearns, but [they can't find the money] to help people keep their homes."

"Why on earth should there be one penny of tax benefit to any company that exports a job from Oregon to a foreign country?"

"And why should there be tax benefits for Wall Street [workers]... rather than a teacher working right here in Hillsboro making $50,000 a year. All my life I have worked for a fair and equal society. I was raised by parents who worked hard, instilled a work ethic, but I've also seen over the course of my life that bad things happen to good people. The genius of our American system was to strike the right balance, to encourage people to be risk takers... but to have a government that would be on your side, so that when times got tough they would be there to get you through those days. What we have is a President George Bush who believes in ... a government by the few, for the few."

"I've always believed a progressive agenda is the best way to move America forward together. [I have] the boldest plans and the biggest goals... aiming high means presenting a truly universal health care system, leaving no one out. That's why I am so proud to have both the American and the Oregon Nurses' Association support and endorse me. I have an economic blueprint that will pave the way for a return to economic prosperity."

She hears people criticize the 1990s, "And I think, which part didn't they like? The peace, or the prosperity? Because we know how to do this. It wasn't so long ago we were. 22.7 million new jobs, the average family's income going up by $7,000, people being lifted out of poverty for the first time in decades, people believing that if they worked hard they had a shot at the American dream."

"When George Bush became president, oil was at $22 (20?) a barrel, we had a balanced budget, and a surplus."

Her plan is at hillaryclinton.com. "We've had enough false promises and speeches, we need solutions and results!

"And I have a specific plan for education, starting with preschool education, universal preschool education, and I will end No Child Left Behind, which is not working! And I will make college affordable again for hard working families..."

The crowd is eating this stuff up. "I just think it is a grave error for our country not to invest in our young people. This is not so much about the next election as it is about the next generation." Her family couldn't afford law school, so "I worked, to pay for things that I needed, like books... but I also had the advantage of being able to borrow money directly from the federal government. I borrowed at about 2% interest... and that meant that when I graduated from law school, I could go to work and do the work that was my passion, working for the Children's Defense Fund... and then I could pay back my loan over time. Look at what's happened today, the cost of college has gone up by so much... and the amount of aid has shrunk. When I travel across the country and ask how many of you have college debt... raise your hands. What is the highest interest rate anyone is paying, anyone paying more than 22%? How much, 25%? Those of you who haven't been in the college financial market recently, I want you to hear that. This is a scam. Interest rates are historically low, and people are being charged 20, 25 percent... I'm going to get the predatory lending companies out of the way..."

For those willing to do public service, "we will forgive that debt over time."

"And we will restore our moral authority around the world... that means ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home... as soon as possible." The crowd loves it, they're standing and stomping.

"We all know how important this is. But it's important to look at it in the broader context of how we do it and how it affects our security and how we move forward to protect our interests and keep our world safer.... [we must] commit ourselves to energy independence and make it the highest priority of our country. Right now our dependence on fossil fuels threatens our environment, our security and our economy. Any fair assessment of where we are leads to the conclusion that we are weaker and more dependent than before George Bush became president... since before 9/11. I waited for President Bush... to challenge us to become energy independent. Remember who flew those airplanes into the Trade Center and into the Pentagon... but we've... bought billions of dollars of oil from the Saudis. I am proposing cutting oil imports by 2/3, cutting green house emissions by [80 %]. I believe we can create at least 5 million green collar jobs, which are jobs that won't be outsourced. I'm the only candidate with a real plan to transform [our energy structure]. I have proposed the highest fuel efficiency standards, and I believe with the appropriate policy we can meet the highest fuel efficiency standards that have been set."

"Oregon is already doing it! I can point to this state, I can look at Portland, Portland has no reduced greenhouse gas emissions below the 1990 levels, we see the fast growing market for renewables like wind power in this state. I will support you by setting a goal of 25 percent electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Oregon is already a leader in green buildings... your carbon footprint is one of the smallest in the nation, and I propose to create a green building fund to create... green building jobs... make buildings more energy efficient... and build more energy efficient buildings in the first place. I proposed a "made green in America" fund, to invest millions of dollars in green manufacturing, at least $6.5 million dollars in Oregon alone... to make America the leader in green exports."

"How will I pay for it? By doing two things... taking the tax subsidies away from the oil companies. They do not need your money to make a huge profit. And I will give the oil companies a choice, they can either be part of the solutions, investing in renewable resources. Or we will impose a windfall profits tax. I'm very excited about what we can do across the board with energy and to combat global warming. But we have to work to combat some of the changes of the past few years."

"Dick Cheney..." Boos! "You guys are a great audience," she says, talking about Cheney's energy policy, "which is having a direct impact on your state and mine. It removed from states the power to determine whether liquified natural gas terminals would be placed in states. I'm fighting one in Long Island Sounds. One of the companies wants to site a floating LNG terminal in Long Island Sound. Here in Oregon there are plans on the boards for three... and what this bill did was to take all power and put it into the Federal Energy Commission which is of course stacked with those that have the same mind set as George Bush and Dick Cheney."

She's calling up a farmer from local organic farm Gales Creek. "She concerned that the federal government may use eminent domain to lay LNG pipes through her property... which may have environmental ramifications for her property and the rest of the region."

The woman—Anne Berblinger—is up showing photos of her farm, and the orange line representing where they want to put the line. "It would wipe us out for an entire season while giant machinery would come and build a trench through soil we've been building for 15 years... it would take out our irrigation system, it would run over our well and our neighbors' well... good wells are few and far between. It goes beyond our farm. It's public and private forest land in Oregon, it would run through the Mt. Hood forest with a clear cut... it would have terrible impacts on the fishing industry, there's beautiful steelhead in Gales Creek... there's coho salmon that spawn about a mile from our property... our wineries, our nurseries, would all be impacted. And finally we would have a pressurized 3 foot gas line going right through our yards, our neighborhoods, within five hundred feet of the Gales Creek Elementary school... these things blow up."

Clinton: "Let me tell Anne that I am the only candidate who voted against Dick Cheney's energy bill. I believe this is a clear difference in this campaign between me and my opponent.... you can talk... or you can act. I acted. I voted no. I will continue my efforts to hold the oil companies accountable."

"Now, we're going to turn to questions in a minute, and I hope people will raise their hands... but I want to ask for your support. This primary will be closely watched, people are interested in what Oregon thinks, because everyone knows Oregon's about the future. It's about tomorrow, it's about planning to get there. So much progress Oregon is made because people [make goals and work hard]... that's what I want to do as your president."

This campaign is a long job interview. "Really, think about it. The American people hire a president. When you go to vote for someone, you can vote for or against somebody based on whatever you decide. But when you're hiring someone for a really hard job, you want to know, what have they done? Here in Oregon I helped create the Children's Health Insurance Program. Here in the Oregon the national reserves that have done such an admirable job [but didn't have health care]... and I worked across the aisle... and we changed that law and now the guard and their families can access health care."

She put safety requirements into SUVs. "George Bush just actually signed my law into law, and we're going to protect thousands of kids every year. Often the best way to tell what someone will do is to see what they've done... I'm coming to offer solutions for the problems America faces. I know it's not going to be easy, but there isn't anything we can't do if we start acting like Americans again. If we get over the fear... and we're going to resolve that we're going to take our country back and move with real optimism into the future again! Thank you, and god bless you all!"

The music started up, but Hillary killed it to take a few questions, "and then I'll shake as many hands as I possibly can."

A man in the back is asking if it's a priority to get out of Iraq. "As the first woman president of the United States... is it really all that complicated to get out of Iraq?" and will it be her priority?

"It is my highest priority, but it's also important that we do it the right way, because withdrawing troops can be dangerous. We have to move them out on the same roads that have been prone to attacks... but I will ask [my advisers to formulate] a plan so we can start moving troops out in 60 days." She "admires John McCain, he is my friend," and he will run on national security—which makes her the best candidate to take him on, given all the military folks she just reeled off who have endorsed her, in addition to "staunch anti-war critics... because I have the best understanding about how to actually get us out of Iraq, which is what I will do."

Clinton is congratulating a local kid who just won $50K from Intel for his discovery of a better solar cell. "Thank you very, very much."

A woman asking a question wants to ask about how she would "hold schools accountable without being punitive."

"That's exactly the right way to ask that question," Clinton says. "I've been involved in education reform [since Arkansas, which was a very poor state]. I know that this is not easy, and it has to be a partnership... I've worked all my life to give families more support to do that most important job, and we have to have institutional support to have good [preschool and the rest of it]. If our schools are going to do the job that our country needs, we need to be creative, not to lock them down into a one size fits all approach, but to look at how we're going to do the best for each child... where we judge the progress each child is making, not the child as a member of that group, whether the group is succeeding. And I have a lot to say about this because I think if we don't support and sustain public education, we will not recognize our country... I believe the federal government should be using our resources to help bring schools up... I intend to be a good partner to have that kind of an accountable education system."

A nurse at OHSU in the stem cell transplant clinic is wondering about her views on stem cell research. "One of the first things I would do as your president is to ask Congress to send me the bill President Bush has vetoed twice, and I will sign it, and we will start having stem cell research... I will end President Bush's war on science! You've seen a steady decline in the budgets of the national institutes for health, and all the other agencies... so we continue to move forward and lead the world. [Science] is a job creator... right here in the Silicon Forest you have people benefiting from prior investments... and out of that, we had no idea when we started that the Internet would be created, we didn't know where our investments would lead... we have to get back to funding basic research, and be unafraid of where it might lead."

Who on the current Supreme Court does she admire, asks a young man who got quite a cheer from the crowd. Clinton says one of the most important reasons to put a Democrat in the White House this fall is the Supreme Court. "The Roberts court is on an ideological mission, and it's not just about a woman's right to choose. It's about economic and government authority. I would appoint someone who understands the genius of our system, that our constitution has expanded as our hearts have expanded. When the Constitution was written, neither Barack nor I was in it. I want justices who know that you have to be constantly balancing... but don't side with the most retrograde version of America. How can we have a more just society as people pursue life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness?"

She doesn't have a litmus test, but she has an "experience test." "I want people who have lived, who have had the ups and downs, who have been knocked down and got back up... and we need a court that understands that."

"I see a little hand..." A little girl is asking "what do you plan to do about the loss of water... the rivers are drying up."

"That's an excellent question, a really important question. And I like the color you have on. I think water is going to be one of the most contentious issues we face in the 21st century... some of you see that already.... We know the water wars throughout the west, we know the farmer-salmon wars right here in Oregon. Water is unfortunately too scarce a resources in many regions. We need a president who takes seriously the issue of water... but I believe we've got to take a broad look at our entire country... how we're going to conserve water... everything we can think of to do to preserve more of nature's water, and Oregon has a lot of that. And we need to be smart about it, how to recover it, and we've got to work out the very legitimate differences [between those with claims to water.]" Darfur's genocide is partly about access to water: "But there was a recent study that showed there is water under Sudan, which no one had every thought of or expected. How do we get to it? How do we have some international process...? These are all issues that I would address as president... if we deal with it now, we will have a better chance of avoiding the kind of horrific crises that will come."

What's her plan for universal health care, another young person asks. "I plan on getting it for every person in America!" She was working on it when Bill was in office, "clearly we were not successful then, but we haven't given up.... so universal health care is a personal passion of mine, but it's also the morally and economically right action for our country to take. Here's what I would do, and again I refer you to my website, in the short version we have two big problems, we have people who are uninsured, and people who are insured but the insurance company won't pay the hospital or doctors."

"If you are uninsured or underinsured, I will open up the Congressional plan.... the cost is on average lower than your employer or in the open marketplace. I want you to have the same choice your Congressperson has..." She'll limit it to "a low percentage of your income" what you'd have to pay for it. She's going to take away insurance company's power to discriminate based on health. "They should not be making life and death decisions, that should be up to doctors and nurses!"

She's off to shake hands, leaving with a promise to return, and saying she would be "honored to have your vote. Thank you very much!"