By Sarah Light, staff writer

MASON CITY, Iowa &8212; Drawing from the strengths of her husband&8217;s presidential administration and the shortcomings of the current George W. Bush administration, U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Friday that President Bush needs to stop ignoring &8220;the will of the American people&8221; and initiate a change of course in Iraq.

Addressing a full-house crowd of about 550 in the atrium at North Iowa Area Community College, the New York senator and Democratic presidential candidate said she wants the president to address why U.S. military are still in Iraq and why he isn&8217;t listening to anyone &8212; including the Iraq study group, other leaders and especially the American people.

&8220;No matter what you thought about the president … it is absolutely clear the authority he was given is no longer relevant,&8221; Clinton said of when Bush first authorized the war in 2002. &8220;The best thing we can do for our troops right now is get them out of the middle of this sectarian civil war.&8221;

In addition to discussion about the Iraq war, she briefly touched on issues of veterans&8217; rights, health care, education and international relationships.

&8220;We have a lot of work to do here at home,&8221; she said.

During discussion on Iraq, Clinton said during the past two years she has supported a phased withdrawal of bringing U.S. troops home.

She justified her Thursday vote against further funding the war. She said she didn&8217;t think the legislation had enough conditions to change the president&8217;s mind.

Now, Clinton noted, she&8217;s working to deauthorize the war. When Bush received authorization for the war in 2002, that authorization was passed on false pretenses, she said.

Included in these reasons for authorization was to overthrow Saddam Hussein, who is now gone, and then to find weapons of mass destruction &8212; which has been proven there are none, she said.

&8220;Why are we still there? That&8217;s the debate I want,&8221; Clinton said.

She said she learned from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates that the Pentagon does not have any plans for withdrawal. &8220;That&8217;s wrong,&8221; she said, noting this should be done.

Many of these comments were met with heavy applause from audience members.

Clinton said, if elected, she wants to be a president who sets goals for the country again.

Some of these goals would be to move toward energy independence, to deal with the challenge of global warming and to set goals in education, such as to make college affordable.

Then while working to better this country, she would also strive to strengthen relationships with other countries in the world.

&8220;What we need to do is make more friends and partners than enemies,&8221; she said. &8220;You can&8217;t deal with any of the big issues if you&8217;re not friends.&8221;

She said, if elected, she would want other countries to know that &8220;America is back,&8221; and that the country is reaching out and wanting to work with others again.

There needs to be total transparency in government and the bureaucracy needs to be cut, she said.

&8220;I&8217;m running for president because I want to rebuild America&8217;s greatness around the world and renew America&8217;s promise here at home,&8221; she said.

Following the event, attendees flocked around the stage to shake hands and take photos with the presidential candidate.

Attendee Jennifer O&8217;Brien of Mason City said she came out to listen to Clinton because she wanted to hear her opinions on health care.

She said Clinton had a lot of good things to say.

Another attendee, Mason City resident Joyce Hopp, said she came out to see Clinton because she wants to be an informed voter when the time comes.

&8220;Hillary has a lot of experience and a lot of contacts in the world that I think would be very helpful,&8221; Hopp said.