NEW YORK, NY December 14, 2005 —With Republicans openly bickering about who will run for U.S. Senate next year, seven hundred Democrats rallied around Senator Hillary Clinton last night at a fundraiser for her re-election bid. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

REPORTER: It was all smiles last night as Clinton added half a million dollars to her fourteen million dollar warchest. After being introduced by her husband, the former President, Clinton spoke about broad, national themes. She repeatedly criticized "the administration in Washington" for what she described as squandering both the surplus and the international good will left by the Clinton administration. Senator Clinton said Washington had done too little to bring about energy self-sufficiency and combat global warming.

CLINTON: I am fundamentally optimistic about our country, despite all of these challenges all of the misjudgements that are being made. I believe that we'll have a good election year.

REPORTER: Clinton did joke about the Republicans "eventually making up their minds" about who would run against her. That, as State Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno turned up the heat on Jeannine Pirro, saying she should decide "sooner rather than later" to get out of the Senate race.