(TLIAW) Right Back Up: The Hillary Clinton Story

Right Back Up
The Hillary Clinton Story

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Some people, we tend to believe, were simply destined to become president. George Washington, for example. Others may have been destined, but we tend to believe a twist of fate got in the way, like in the case of Robert Kennedy. Then there's a third category - people who, despite their own personal dreams and aspirations, were simply never meant to be president. This seems to be the category that most aptly describes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Without touching current politics, this Timeline in a Week will provide a narrative to counter that assumption. It will not concern itself with the details of a Clinton presidency, but instead, outline an alternative timeline in which Hillary Clinton managed to win the nation's ultimate prize. It will be a timeline in four parts. The first will cover an event characteristic of Hillary's career: being knocked down. The remaining three will cover another characteristic part of Hillary's career: getting right back up.

I assure the skeptical moderator that this timeline's conclusion occurs well before 2016. This a completely alternative account of our nation's history. It is not complete with invented electoral maps or Wikiboxes or long lists of elections results and public officials. Instead, it is the simple story of a woman who believed she could be the country's first female president.

Enjoy.


“When you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.”
–Hillary Rodham Clinton
 
Chapter I
I. Bill's Campaign

“I really don’t think you should do it,” she said, holding her husband’s hand as the limousine made it’s way to the event in Little Rock, Arkansas. She knew her husband’s mind was made up, but she wanted to give it one last try. She couldn’t blame him. She’d seen the fundraising numbers from the exploratory committee. She heard Mickey Kantor, Carl Wagner, Steve Cohen, John Holum, and Sandy Berger sit in the Governor’s Mansion and explain his path to victory. It seemed so plausible. So likely. She couldn’t blame him for thinking it was his time. It was Hillary’s gut versus polling, a strong fundraising performance, and a mediocre Democratic field. Of course he was going to run.

Bill squeezed her hand. “I know, and I respect that Hill, I really do. But trust me: I’m going to win this thing.”

The venue was filled with supporters. They were holding “Clinton for President” signs. They were cheering loudly. Hillary smiled, waving and thanking everyone for coming out. She had taken the stage first to introduce her husband. She spoke for a brief four minutes, outlining Bill’s accomplishments in the Governor’s Mansion and sharing a bit of their personal life – stories from law school and stories of Bill the father. Then, she introduced, “the man who is going to be George Bush, my husband, William Jefferson Clinton!”

The band played. Bill gave his speech. It felt great, but Hillary couldn’t shake it – that pit in her stomach that said Bill wasn’t going to be able to pull it off. Then, it went away. Shortly after his announcement speech, press attention turned to the young attractive governor of a Southern state. “For the Democratic Party, Bill Clinton represents a path to victory against opponents who only know how to label Democrats as liberal elitists from the Northeast.” His campaign raised lots of money and young people from Iowa to New Hampshire signed up to knock doors, make phone calls, and stuff envelopes. The Clinton campaign was becoming a well-oiled machine.

Then, in November 1987, rumors circulated that Bill Clinton was carrying on an affair with a young woman named Gennifer Flowers. Bill had once cheated on Hillary with Flowers in 1977. He denied any substantial affair. Hillary knew about the incident and had decided not to leave Bill. It had been ten years. The idea that Flowers would allege a continuous relationship enraged the couple. Flowers herself did not comment on the story and while rumors swirled in the press, they did not gain significant traction without an admission from Flowers. In fact, she denied the story to several reporters when asked to comment.

A month later, however, Flowers agreed to take a check from Star in exchange for her story, in which she alleged a ten-year affair between 1977 and 1987. The story caught on. Clinton, who was second in the polls in Iowa, second in New Hampshire, and poised to best Tennessee Senator Al Gore in a slew of Southern primaries, was suddenly losing ground. Donations dried up. Poll numbers plummeted. Opponents like Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis, and Gore laid low but watched as their own fortunes began to rise as a result of the allegations. To combat the situation, Bill and Hillary agreed to sit for an interview on the Today Show.

Seated across from Bryant Gumbel in a live television interview, Bill and Hillary opened up about their marriage. When pressed to be specific about the nature of his involvement with Gennifer Flowers, the governor provided a meaningful if vague answer. “Bryant, the voters know, and I’ve said this before, that I have not been a perfect husband. I’ve caused pain in my marriage, like a lot of husbands have, and I have apologized to Hillary for that. Together, we have built a marriage that, while imperfect, is rooted in a deep love for one another.”

Gumbel pressed on. “Your marriage has come under scrutiny, however. There’s a perception that it’s less of a marriage rooted in love as you say, and instead is more of a sort of political arrangement. What do you say to that?”

Bill was clearly irritated. As he opened his mouth to answer, Hillary put her hand on his knee and interrupted. “Wait a minute,” she said. “Bryant, you’re looking at two people who love each other. This is not an arrangement or an understanding. This is a marriage. I am here this morning because I love this man. I love him with all my heart and I respect him and I honor what he’s been through and what we’ve been through together. I am a better person because of this man. If that’s not enough for people, then heck, don’t vote for him, but he has made me a better person, and he will make this country a better place.”

The interview continued with Gumbel asking Hillary to go into more detail about what she meant when she said Bill had bettered her. Suddenly, the interview was about Hillary. She was there on the couch, holding Bill’s hand, smiling and laughing and recounting anecdotes about Bill playing with Chelsea, about how she’d said no to him when he first proposed in law school, about how nervous he had been to ask her out. Bill was laughing and looked a little boyish, a little embarrassed, when Hillary shared some of the stories. Gumbel smiled. Suddenly, it became hard to deny that these people weren’t in love, even if their marriage hadn’t been a fairy tale.

When the interview was over, Bill and Hillary got back in the car and drove to their hotel room. On the way, campaign strategist Carl Wagner praised Hillary. “Ma’me, you just saved this campaign. You totally saved it.” She had. Afternoon papers reported on the interview and Hillary’s undeniable devotion to her husband. The evening news carried bits from the interview, but not the governor’s response to questions about Gennifer Flowers. Instead, they picked up at Hillary’s interruption and put together some of her answers that were wrapped in her love for her husband. The Clinton campaign was salvaged. Within two weeks, their poll numbers had recovered and they were raising more money than ever.

In Iowa, Bill Clinton placed second to Dick Gephardt. Polls in New Hampshire, the first primary state, however, showed him trailing Dukakis and Gephardt by healthy margins in the Granite State. Clinton refused to be deterred. He and Hillary traveled around New Hampshire extensively throughout the year. The night of the New Hampshire primary, Clinton barely finished behind Dukakis, taking second place. On the news that night, Carl Wagner was perfectly clear, “This was a victory for Governor Clinton. We all knew Michael Dukakis would win New Hampshire – he’s basically the governor of this state, but for Governor Clinton to come so close to preventing that from happening – that’s the story tonight.” The next morning, the New Hampshire Union Leader carried an interesting headline: “Victory!” it declared with a picture of Bill and Hillary Clinton waving to a crowd as confetti fell over them.

After New Hampshire, Senator Gore realized that his path to victory was blocked. Clinton had taken up Gore’s voters and donors. He dropped out of the race and endorsed the Arkansas governor. Shortly thereafter, Gephardt reached a similar conclusion. He, too, exited the race and announced his support of Clinton. He even went as far as to call on Michael Dukakis, Clinton’s remaining opponent, to follow suit. Dukakis stayed in a month longer, but there was never any doubt that Clinton would secure the nomination.

In the lead up to the Democratic convention, it looked as though victory was almost certain for Clinton. However, questions remained about his foreign policy credentials and experience against an incumbent vice president. To counter this, Clinton wanted a running mate who would bring considerable weight to the ticket. After a short vetting process, Clinton decided on Texas Senator Lloyd Bentsen. The choice was also of symbolic note. Bentsen had already defeated Bush once, in a race for the U.S. Senate. Now, he was joining forces with Clinton to deliver Bush the final defeat of his career.

After a successful convention that included a rousing keynote address from Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards, a protégé of Bentsen, the Democrats entered the general election soaring in the polls. In mid-September, though, the Clinton/Bentsen campaign was dealt a devastating blow. The Associated Press reported about Clinton’s actions during the Vietnam War in which he reportedly dodged the draft. The Dukakis campaign had discovered this information in the primaries, but was unwilling to use it in the campaign because they had previously leaked a damaging tape of Joe Biden plagiarizing remarks from a British politician that ended Biden’s campaign. Dukakis was afraid that his campaign would come across as too mud-slinging and that the attacks would ultimately backfire on him. Now, the report surfaced in the general election.

The Bush campaign, led by Lee Atwater, exploited the issue. Bush himself was a decorated war hero who had survived being shot down numerous times during World War II. Already, the Bush/Quayle team was running on patriotism and Bush’s service to the country. A new narrative began to take shape. The Clinton campaign struggled to respond to the allegations. Though a strong debate performance helped their numbers recover, the image of Clinton that Bush had created stuck. Though it was close, George H.W. Bush was elected the 41st president on November 8, 1988.

Bill and Hillary were stunned. Though they knew the draft scandal had narrowed the race, they thought Bill’s effective campaigning, in the end, would be enough. How wrong they had been. When the race was called around midnight, Bill told staff he intended to concede in the morning. “No,” Hillary said sternly. “You are going to go out there and you are going to do this now. He is the President-elect of the United States and you have an obligation as the man he just defeated to tell your supporters that.” Bill knew she was right.

“I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion,” Bill told everyone assembled at the election night party in Arkansas. It was the final sentence of his remarks. “Thank you,” he said, and exited the stage. Hillary stayed in the room well after Bill left, thanking supporters and staff. For her, the next campaign had just begun.
 

James G

Gone Fishin'
Brilliant start. I enjoyed this.

I spotted a tiny typo which made me double-take. Third paragraph:
'going to be George Bush' should be 'going to beat George Bush'.
 
Chapter II
II. “There Will Be No Comeback”

“A once-promising political career has ended in total despair,” wrote the Times the morning after the election. “Governor Bill Clinton went down in defeat to Vice President George H.W. Bush. While the Clinton campaign struggled greatly as November drew near, there was a growing sense that Clinton would be able to pull off a win over the vice president. Now, he returns to Arkansas defeated. His political obituary has been written at the tender age of 42. He will likely try once more, but there will be no comeback for a youthful governor who blew a 21-point lead in just three and a half months.”

At a total loss for what to do, Bill Clinton moped for days after his defeat. Two weeks after losing the election, he and Hillary sat down at the kitchen table for coffee to talk about their political future. Bill thought that if he waited it out he could mount a comeback in 1996 or 2000. He had plenty of time. Hillary picked up the Times article from November 9th and read it aloud. “There will be no comeback,” she said at the end for added emphasis. A silence hung in the air. “Bill,” she said, “I want to move back to Illinois and start my own career.”

He knew it was coming, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. He also knew that he had promised it to Hillary. They were partners. He had gone against her advice and blown his chance. He owed it to Hillary to allow her to pursue her own career. After Christmas in 1988, Clinton announced he would not run for another term as governor. Two weeks after the 1991 Inauguration, he, Hillary, and Chelsea moved to Park Ridge, Illinois, where Hillary opened her own law firm and Bill signed on as a lecturer at the University of Chicago before joining a prestigious Chicago law firm as a partner. He published a book in 1991, in which he recounted his loss to Bush and mapped a path to victory for a future Democratic candidate.

“We have now lost three presidential elections,” he wrote. “We owe it to the American people to nominate the strongest possible candidate in 1992.” The book was a bestseller and created talk that Clinton was preparing for a presidential campaign of his own in 1992. He was very clear: His political career was over.

Instead, the Democrats nominated a reluctant Lloyd Bentsen. President Bush’s incredible popularity in the wake of the Gulf War discouraged prominent Democrats like Mario Cuomo from entering the race. Bentsen, however, received immense pressure from Party officials to make the race. Bentsen knew he was not running to win when he entered the race. He skated through the primaries with no serious opposition. He named New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley, a young rising star, as his vice presidential nominee in hopes of raising his profile and preparing him for victory in 1996.

Then, after the Democratic convention, the economy soured and Bush’s approval ratings took a nosedive. Suddenly, Bentsen was the candidate to beat. He added to his campaign schedule and crisscrossed the nation, talking about Bush’s decision to go back on his “no new taxes” pledge. He characterized the president as a political flip-flopper who was out of touch with middle-class Americans. His choice of Bradley invigorated the left while his own image as a stoic statesman had broad appeal with much of the electorate.

Improbably, Lloyd Bentsen was elected the nation’s 42nd president on November 3, 1992. He trounced Bush, taking more than 400 electoral votes. In Park Ridge, Illinois, Clinton watched in despair. Had he only waited, he would have been the one onstage that night declaring victory and preparing for a term as President of the United States. Instead, he and Hillary watched from their living room. Bill was glued to the television while Hillary organized a list of local Democratic Party officials and activists in preparation for a state senate bid in 1990.

She would soon be called to another venture, however. Shortly after his inauguration, President Bentsen decided to tackle the issue of equality in educational opportunities, believing that children from low-income families and families of color disproportionately lacked access to education. It was an issue he was passionate about and he remembered that Hillary Clinton, too, was concerned with the matter. He invited Bill and Hillary to the White House in January. Most assumed that he was going to appoint Bill as a federal prosecutor or perhaps a judgeship. Instead, he wanted Hillary to lead the Presidential Task Force on Equality in Education. “I remember so many of our conversations late into the night back during the ’88 campaign. I know this is where your passion is. Are you with me, Hillary?” he asked. Without even turning to her husband, Hillary enthusiastically replied, “Absolutely.”

Hillary stayed in Washington, renting an apartment in Georgetown while working with the president. In her role, Clinton traveled to the Hill frequently, meeting with and impressing Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike. She was also public in her role. She took as many interviews as possible to raise awareness about her work. She shared stories from her time at the Children’s Defense Fund, talking about going undercover to reveal segregated schools. “In some ways,” declared an article in the Washington Post, “Hillary Clinton is the face of President Bentsen’s legislative agenda.”

Bentsen and the Department of Education gave Hillary all of the resources she needed and on the one-year anniversary of Bentsen’s presidency, Clinton appeared before cameras in the White House Briefing Room to unveil a report from the Task Force. The detailed report included specific policy proposals as well as bureaucratic changes to target equal access for education. “In the course of this effort, I have traveled to states in Appalachia and the Deep South where I have learned that it is the income of your family, not the strength of a student’s will that determines one’s access to quality education,” Hillary said.

The president lauded Hillary for her work. “The nation’s children,” he remarked, “will forever be indebted for the professionalism, thoroughness, and expediency that Hillary Rodham Clinton brought to this effort.” Hillary’s recommendations turned into legislation that passed with bipartisan support. The Chairwoman herself returned to Park Ridge where she began planning a run for the United States Senate.
 
Chapter III
III. The Senator from Illinois

For the next three years, Hillary Clinton traveled the state. She met with shop owners and local Democratic committees. She talked to parents and teachers, shop owners and minimum wage employees. Noted the Chicago Tribune, “It is clear that Mrs. Clinton has returned from Washington and is intent on serving the people of Illinois. It is possible she is trying to challenge Governor Edgar for reelection, but such a campaign would almost certainly end in defeat. Instead, she seems poised to run for the U.S. Senate in 1996 as Senator Simon has indicated he intends to retire.” The Tribune had been spot on.

When Simon confirmed his retirement in January of 1995, Clinton waited two weeks before announcing her own campaign for the United States Senate. “Hillary for United States Senate” read the campaign signs and banners. Her last name was notably absent from campaign signage and most campaign mailings. This was a campaign about Hillary, not Bill, the failed politician. It was about the woman who went to Washington and did what she had always done: Fought for the less fortunate, especially children, in need of an advocate.

Hillary’s chief rival for the Democratic nomination was Congressman Richard Durbin. Illinois State Treasurer Pat Quinn was also making a bid for the seat. Hillary’s campaign focused on meeting with as many voters one-on-one as possible. She launched a series of “listening tours” and crisscrossed the state, traveling to parts of the state Democrats rarely bothered with. Her message resonated in poorer rural areas of Illinois that felt her past advocacy would help people like them if she were sent to Washington.

Notably absent for much of the campaign was Bill, who remained at home and took care of Chelsea, then only 16 years old. While Bill played parent, Hillary mastered the campaign trail. In interviews, she was poised and direct. In small town hall events, she was thorough in her answers and made sure every question got asked. Her speeches fell flat, but in a Senate race she made few of them. Instead, she opted for more personal events that played to her strengths. Durbin, however, was also running a masterful campaign, emphasizing his experience as a congressman. The polls showed a close match with Quinn serving as a spoiler.

In January of 1996, Hillary turned to President Bentsen, who had already announced his decision not to seek a second term due to his age, for help in her race. Bentsen was urged not to get involved in a primary for a U.S. Senate campaign, but he felt compelled to help Hillary whom he had become friends with during the 1988 campaign. She was someone he believed in, whom he thought would carry on the fight for issues he cared about. He spent much of February, the month before the primary, campaigning enthusiastically for the candidate. On March 19th, Hillary Clinton carried 51% of the vote in the Democratic primary, besting Durbin, Quinn, and three other candidates.

Meanwhile, the presidential election was shaping up to be a boring contest. Vice President Bradley easily coasted to the nomination. He received only a token challenge from Tennessee Senator Al Gore who campaigned to Bradley’s right. The Republicans nominated Senator Bob Dole in their most predictable primary in recent memory. The general election was expected to go to Bradley. The nation’s economy was prosperous, all was quiet on the international front, and President Bentsen was a popular president.

Both Bradley and Hillary Clinton rode Bentsen’s popularity to decisive wins in their own contests. Bradley won more than 350 electoral votes while Hillary took over 60% of the popular vote in the Senate race. Come January, the two began a mutually beneficial alliance.

During his first address to Congress, President Bradley outlined a number of progressive proposals he hoped to accomplish, aimed at helping low-income families. He wanted to expand Head Start, bringing an estimated half a million kids into the program. He wanted to allow single parents on welfare to continue receiving child support payments. He wanted to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and make the Dependent Care Credit refundable. To accomplish these goals, Bradley turned to Senator Rodham Clinton who was equally passionate about the issues and entered the Hill with a number of relationships from her days as the head of the Task Force on Equality in Education. With Hillary’s help, President Bradley won victories on all these issues in his first 100 days.

While filibuster-proof majorities in the House and Senate certainly aided Bradley’s efforts, Hillary Clinton deserved much of the credit. The Tribune called the new Senator from Illinois a “workhorse.” The Post said she was “double the lawmaker her husband was.” The Times said she should have been the Party’s presidential nominee in 1988. Maybe then a Clinton would have one.

The coverage took a toll on Bill Clinton. His ego bruised, Bill began conducting an affair with a 19 year-old intern at the law office he worked at. Just as Democrats were dealt a devastating blow in the November 1998 Midterm Elections, a result of backlash to President Bradley’s attempts to reform social security, the story of Bill Clinton’s sexual exploits landed on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. “Senator’s Husband Sleeps With 19 Year-Old Girl While Wife Handles National Issues” read the November 10th headline. The headline itself emasculated Clinton. At first, Hillary seemed untouched by the scandal. She was doing the country’s work while her husband got bored and carried out an inappropriate relationship.

Illinois Republicans, concerned by Hillary Rodham Clinton’s rising star, took the chance to mount an attack against Clinton. They reframed the issue. No longer was the story about a philandering husband but about an ambitious woman who abandoned her family and, in the process, destroyed her marriage. Where were her values? What about the daughter, Chelsea? No wonder Bill was cheating on her, she wasn’t being a wife and a mother. It was hard to characterize the attacks as anything other than sexist, but they worked. Hillary’s approval rating plummeted as some opinion writers suggested Hillary needed to return to Illinois to save her family.

The story gained national attention. Hillary was infuriated with Bill. Illinois Republicans found more women to allege sexual misconduct against Bill. Juanita Broaddrick accused Clinton of violently raping her in 1978. It was a bombshell report. While some questioned why Broaddrick did not come forward during the 1988 campaign, Broaddrick said she saw the dismissal of the Flowers’ affair as reason enough to think her story would not be believed. Now, she said, she felt the American public needed to know the truth about Bill Clinton.

Dateline NBC announced it was doing a special on the allegations against Clinton, beginning with the confirmed affair with the 19-year-old intern and working back to the earliest accusation of sexual misconduct, the Broaddrick incident. The next night, Senator Rodham Clinton appeared on the NBC Nightly News to respond. She chose to do the interview alone. She admitted that her marriage was going through a rough spot but firmly denied the allegations made by Broaddrick. Near the end of the interview, however, her calm demeanor disappeared. When Tom Brokaw asked why she continued to stay married to Bill Clinton, Hillary was passionate in her response. “Is it so hard to believe I love the man?” she asked, an edge to a voice. “I’m not some Tammy Wynette standing by my man,” she said, “I love him.” She sighed. “I guess it would’ve been easier,” she continued, her voice rising, “if I had just stayed home and baked cookies like the men in the media and the men in Washington wanted me to. But I didn’t. I didn’t because I believed I could make a difference – and I have. I’ve gotten a lot more done in Washington than half the men you talk about. And we don’t talk about what the wives of those Senators do in the privacy of their homes. We don’t talk about that. We talk about what my husband does, and I think that’s wrong, Tom. I just do.”

The interview received a mixed reception. Brokaw argued that Bill Clinton was a public figure in his own right and that the sexual escapades of a former presidential nominee were fair game, especially when his wife seemed destined to pursue her own presidential campaign one day. Many voters responded negatively to Hillary’s solo and angry defense. Feminists rallied behind Hillary, labeling her their champion. It was wrong that she had to answer for Bill’s actions, they thought, and after Hillary had so bravely fought for them, they decided to return the favor.

Six months after the story of the affair first broke in the Tribune, Bill and Hillary Clinton announced that after extensive therapy they would remain married. “This is a decision I believe to be best for me and, most importantly, best for my daughter, Chelsea. Our family has had the misfortune of having our struggles carried out in the national news media, but I remain committed to serving my family just as I do the hardworking people of Illinois. I refuse to let questions about my marriage distract me from doing my job and helping the people of this great state,” the senator said in a written statement.

Hillary survived the scandal surrounding her husband, but it permanently altered the public’s perception of her. She was no longer simply a Happy Warrior concerned with the plight of the disadvantaged. While some held on to that image, others adopted a new version of Hillary Clinton – a cold and calculating woman unconcerned with obligations to her family and concerned only with advancing her political career. The question of the Clinton marriage as an arrangement of political convenience, the very question Hillary had laid to rest in the 1988 campaign, was back and it would come to haunt Hillary Clinton as she sought the White House.
 
IV. Undeterred

On January 20, 2005, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton stood on the inaugural viewing stand and watched Bill Frist take the oath of office as the nation’s 44th president. After President Bill Bradley survived a narrow reelection campaign against Arizona Senator John McCain, the president struggled to make much of his second term. He faced a united opposition in the Republican Congress all four years of his second term. On September 11, 2002, a disastrous terrorist attack shook the nation to its core. Hijacked airplanes destroyed the Twin Towers in New York and the Sears Tower in Chicago.

The country was embroiled in war in the Middle East. Bradley, however, was not meant to be a war president. The fight against Al Qaeda was poorly managed from the beginning. Repeated attempts to reform the health care system in his second term made Bradley appear uninterested in responding to the threat of global terrorism. The national mood soured toward Democrats.

While the attacks in Chicago propelled Hillary Rodham Clinton into the national spotlight once more and allowed her to redeem her image, the Senator passed on a presidential bid. Instead, she campaigned for the Democratic nominee, Senator Joe Biden. She was also heavily involved in the U.S. Senate election in Illinois. She campaigned vigorously for Rahm Emanuel, who served as an adviser in the Bentsen and Bradley White Houses. Emanuel was up against a state senator, Barack Obama, who was running an anti-war campaign. Thanks in large part to Hillary’s help, Emanuel easily won the Democratic nomination (which was expected to be a close fight) and went on to join Rodham Clinton in the Senate.

Now, she watched Bill Frist, the nation’s new Republican president, take the oath of office. In that moment, Hillary knew it had to be her standing there and taking that oath in four years.

However, the next few years provided little hope for that dream. Frist’s presidency was off to an encouraging start. He was effectively managing the fight abroad. With help from Secretary of Defense Colin Powell and Secretary of State Elizabeth Dole, Frist was definitively winning the War on Terror. His approval rating soared. Hillary grew nervous about her prospects, but remained patient, remembering the campaign of her friend Lloyd Bentsen in 1992.

After an unusually strong performance by Republicans in the 2006 Midterm Elections, Rodham Clinton convened her inner circle to discuss the possibility of a presidential campaign. Chelsea Clinton was there. Bill Clinton was not. Her advisers were split on whether or not Clinton should make a run. The senator decided to pursue it, working donors and precinct captains behind the scenes, in hopes that the situation would turn her way. If it did, she’d be ready to jump into the race. If it didn’t, she would stay out and wait until 2012.

In February 2007, the economy crashed. Deregulation during President Bentsen’s term in office and similar policies under President Frist combined to create and then pop a housing bubble. The stock market entered a free-fall. Important banks were imperiled and on the brink of bankruptcy. President Frist was reluctant to intervene and the situation worsened. Lehman Brothers went under leading to an economic downturn that rivaled the Great Depression. On the floor of the United States Senate, Hillary Rodham Clinton blasted the White House’s “do-nothing approach” and lamented the president’s inaction. Days later, she went to New Hampshire and announced her presidential campaign.

The Democratic primary consisted of numerous candidates. North Carolina Senator-turned-Governor John Edwards, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, California Governor Antonio Villaraigosa, and New York Governor John F. Kennedy, Jr. were all seeking the Democratic nomination. Add Hillary Rodham Clinton and it was an unusually strong field. Villaraigosa and Kennedy were her chief opponents. She had a path to victory, but it would not be easy.

Hillary’s campaign began with an event in Chicago, where she spoke extensively about her work on access to public education, reforming Head Start, and efforts to raise the minimum wage during Bradley’s second term. “In this uncertain time,” Hillary said, “our country needs a doer. I am that person.” Her speech was delivered with confidence and gusto. Her husband, Bill, stood by her side.

As the Iowa Caucuses neared, John Edwards was sitting at third place, behind Kennedy and Clinton. He needed to a breakout performance. In a debate just one week before the first votes were cast, Edwards invoked the memory of the Bill Clinton scandal. “At the end of the day,” Edwards said in his opening remarks, “we need someone who can get the country’s house in order. You have a candidate on this stage who cannot even get her own house in order.” Hillary was stunned that Edwards had gone so low.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Clinton if she wanted to respond. “Honestly, I don’t,” Hillary answered to the roar of the audience. Edwards’ attack had backfired spectacularly, especially when a reporter covering the Edwards campaign emerged the next day to allege that Edwards had inappropriately groped her during a morning press gaggle. With Edwards’ help, Hillary won the Iowa Caucuses. Edwards immediately ended his campaign.

Kennedy, however, seemed poised to win the New Hampshire primary. He was ahead by 10-points in the polls and the nation was looking to the young and charismatic son of a former president to bring them out of the nation’s worst crisis since the Great Depression. In the wake of Hillary’s unexpected victory in Iowa, press coverage returned to the allegations against Bill Clinton and the debate over the integrity of the Clinton marriage. The Kennedy campaign was weary, knowing that their own candidate had a number of similar questions in his own personal life.

The Clinton campaign responded uncharacteristically. Rather than continuing their strategy of hiding Bill, they decided to put him on the stump for Hillary. At his first event, a heckler interrupted the candidate’s husband. “Your marriage is a sham!” he yelled when Bill started talking about how he and Hillary had met. For a brief moment, Bill started tearing up. “You know, that comment hits me right here,” he said, patting his chest. “The truth is, I don’t deserve Hillary. She’s a far better wife to me than I have been a husband to her. You may not believe that our marriage is built on love, but I promise you it is. It breaks my heart to think that my shortcomings as a husband would somehow be responsible for robbing Hillary the chance to be president or, even worse, rob the American people of the incredible work my wife will do on their behalf if she wins this election. I may not deserve Hillary Clinton, but the American people certainly do.”

The clip was played endlessly in the run-up to the nation’s first primary. It was a candid Bill Clinton speaking about his marriage. His answer to the timeless question about a political arrangement was now saving his wife’s bid for the White House, just as her answer had saved his twenty years before. Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire in a landslide. While Villaraigosa carried Nevada, Hillary took another decisive victory in South Carolina. The nomination was effectively hers. After Super Tuesday, Governors Kennedy and Villaraigosa ended their campaigns. Hillary Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president.

The general election campaign was easy for Rodham Clinton. With Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone as her running mate, Hillary traveled the nation and touted her plan for economic recovery. The economy, still in shambles, was enough for voters to want a change. Hillary Clinton carried more than 400 electoral votes, soundly defeating President Frist to become the nation’s first female president.

On January 20, 2009, Hillary Clinton raised her right hand toward God, and placed her left hand on the Bible, held by her husband, Bill. She said the words that Bill had thought he would say twenty years ago to the day: “I, Hillary Rodham Clinton, do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. So help me God.”
 
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