Speech at first major rally affirms her liberal progressive credentials to other candidates

US presidential candidate Hillary Clinton promised in a speech on Saturday to fight for a fairer society for ordinary US citizens, staking out a place on the left to cut off any budding challenge for the Democratic nomination.

The former first lady, secretary of state and favored candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination offered a full-throated embrace of the populist rhetoric backed by the party's progressive wing, citing the liberal legacy of former presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and her husband, Bill Clinton. And she made clear that her potential to make history as the country's first female president would be a major part of that liberal message.