Clinton made the remarks on Saturday at a Human Rights Campaign dinner, where she was filling in for Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden. Barack Obama's running mate canceled his weekend campaign events because his wife's mother is ill.

Clinton spoke by satellite from Los Angeles to a few thousand people who attended the national gay rights group's event.

Clinton said Biden called and asked her to fill in for him because of the family emergency. Rather than sharing her thoughts, she said, "I want to share with you the eloquent remarks that Joe had prepared."

Clinton, who has stepped in as a surrogate for Obama after a hard-fought primary campaign, sought to tie McCain to Bush, saying the Arizona senator offered voters "more of the same."

"He's not a maverick. He's a mimic," she said.

She noted that McCain does not support extending job discrimination and hate-crimes laws to cover sexual orientation and supports the military's policy of discharging anyone who is openly gay.

Clinton said Americans can choose in the November election whether the nation takes steps toward "securing equality and dignity for all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."

"Or we can choose four more years of the same failed policies, four more years of the same small-minded governance, four more years that look just like the last eight," she added.

The Obama campaign has repeatedly tried to tie McCain to Bush in voters' minds, an approach Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin portrayed in a debate with Biden on Thursday as looking backward rather than forward.