From past candidate, a "you go girl" for Clinton

By Marcella Bombardieri, Globe Staff

It was a little startling the other night to see Hillary Clinton -- Senator, former First Lady, and 59-year-old mother of a grown child -- declare with a huge smile at the AFL-CIO debate in Chicago that "If you want a winner...I'm your girl."

There's been a lot of buzz about whether that's risky language for someone trying to become the first female president. But Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic candidate for vice-president in 1984, told the Globe it was a moment she loved. When female politicians hang out, they often call themselves "the girls," Ferraro said.

"I think it's good and healthy. She's comfortable with herself and with the campaign," Ferraro said. "I think we are in a different time, where we don't have to kill ourselves to show we are as good as men."