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Haha, that's quite the laugh.
Colin Powell was the one that said the GOP needed to field a candidate that was "moderate". The GOP offered McCain. A man that was actually left of moderate and Powell voted for Mr Obama.
Mr Powell is a liberal and everybody with any sense knows it.
McCain was seen as a flipflopper. He abandoned his "maverick" image in favor of party-only politics. You must have missed the last half of the campaign.
I didn't miss anything.
I voted for many things on election day, but I skipped the part for president since there wasn't a worthy candidate on the ballot. Even the libertarians failed to produce a candidate worthy of a potential vote.
The way I see it, even voting for the lesser of two evils is still casting a vote for evil. None of the above was my choice.
Yes, Mr Powell voted for Mr Clinton, twice.Isn't it odd, then, that Reagan appointed Powell his National Security Advisor. Just guessing, but he might have voted for Carter simply because Carter actually served in the military rather than just making movies about it.
yeah at least people like Clinton served. oh wait.
Did Powell vote for Clinton? Doubt it. Um, that IS the discussion, genius.
McCain was seen as a flipflopper. He abandoned his "maverick" image in favor of party-only politics. You must have missed the last half of the campaign.
I didn't miss anything.
I voted for many things on election day, but I skipped the part for president since there wasn't a worthy candidate on the ballot. Even the libertarians failed to produce a candidate worthy of a potential vote.
The way I see it, even voting for the lesser of two evils is still casting a vote for evil. None of the above was my choice.
yep! but you know what? by not holding your nose and voting for McCain you helped put the marxist dude in the WH. I didn't cast a vote "for" Mccain,, but against obamalama.
I didn't miss anything.
I voted for many things on election day, but I skipped the part for president since there wasn't a worthy candidate on the ballot. Even the libertarians failed to produce a candidate worthy of a potential vote.
The way I see it, even voting for the lesser of two evils is still casting a vote for evil. None of the above was my choice.
yep! but you know what? by not holding your nose and voting for McCain you helped put the marxist dude in the WH. I didn't cast a vote "for" Mccain,, but against obamalama.
Quite a few of my friends have chastised me for not "holding my nose" and casting a vote for Mr McCain. I'm standing by my principles, I will only vote for somebody, not against somebody. If everybody else did that, we might actually get some good candidates.
Yes, Mr Powell voted for Mr Clinton, twice.yeah at least people like Clinton served. oh wait.
Did Powell vote for Clinton? Doubt it. Um, that IS the discussion, genius.
Yes, Mr Powell voted for Mr Clinton, twice.Did Powell vote for Clinton? Doubt it. Um, that IS the discussion, genius.
Maybe Maggie would like to address her insults of Reagan, then.
Was Powell ever a republican anyway? When he contemplated running for President in 96 or 2000, he considered running on the democratic ticket.
Mr Powell voted for Jimmy Carter over Ronald Reagan.
Nuff said.
Mr Powell voted for Jimmy Carter over Ronald Reagan.
Nuff said.
Isn't it odd, then, that Reagan appointed Powell his National Security Advisor. Just guessing, but he might have voted for Carter simply because Carter actually served in the military rather than just making movies about it.
Mr Reagan appointed the person he thought was best for the job, partisan politics had nothing to do with it. So no, it's not odd at all.
It's also not odd that Mr Obama appointed Mrs Clinton to the position of Secretary of State. Even though I disagree with both Mr Obama's and Mrs Clinton's politics, he appointed her because he felt she was the best one for the position. Again, I disagree with her political stance, but based upon her background, she is qualified for the position.
yep! but you know what? by not holding your nose and voting for McCain you helped put the marxist dude in the WH. I didn't cast a vote "for" Mccain,, but against obamalama.
Quite a few of my friends have chastised me for not "holding my nose" and casting a vote for Mr McCain. I'm standing by my principles, I will only vote for somebody, not against somebody. If everybody else did that, we might actually get some good candidates.
not as long as we have a two party system.. as long as a two party system is in place not voting is the same as voting for the wrong guy! I can't change your princples but that's just what you did, by not voting you voted for a marxist. that's exactly what the dem;s counted on to win apathetic Republicans.
Isn't it odd, then, that Reagan appointed Powell his National Security Advisor. Just guessing, but he might have voted for Carter simply because Carter actually served in the military rather than just making movies about it.
Mr Reagan appointed the person he thought was best for the job, partisan politics had nothing to do with it. So no, it's not odd at all.
It's also not odd that Mr Obama appointed Mrs Clinton to the position of Secretary of State. Even though I disagree with both Mr Obama's and Mrs Clinton's politics, he appointed her because he felt she was the best one for the position. Again, I disagree with her political stance, but based upon her background, she is qualified for the position.
Well we disagree again, because in spite of the number of times she spit out "my 35 years of experience", it just doesn't set right.
Mr Reagan appointed the person he thought was best for the job, partisan politics had nothing to do with it. So no, it's not odd at all.
It's also not odd that Mr Obama appointed Mrs Clinton to the position of Secretary of State. Even though I disagree with both Mr Obama's and Mrs Clinton's politics, he appointed her because he felt she was the best one for the position. Again, I disagree with her political stance, but based upon her background, she is qualified for the position.
Well we disagree again, because in spite of the number of times she spit out "my 35 years of experience", it just doesn't set right.
Actually, she had 16 years experience, but she couldn't sell the fact that she was part of every decision her husband ever made. He never made a decision without her in the room.
So its not because he liked him, its only cause he's black? And you wonder why Republicans are known WIDELY as the racist party, black people aren't bright enough to make a real educated opinion(like you show that you have all the time), they just voted for Barack cause he's mixed
Yea, that's right. They got caught up in the 24 hour a day hype about historical choices and a half black, first black President is better than no first black President. I work at a job that has 80% black employeesYou are either dishonest or a naive imbecile to not know exactly why that George Soros puppet, with no leadership experience what so, ever got elected by the fools that voted for his Kenyan born ass.
As far as racism, I guarantee that if Osama was a true black person, a dark black person, he wouldn't have won the election. A light skinned black will always do better than a dark skinned black, Powell is another example. I would have voted for Condi Rice in a heartbeat but then again, I'm not really concerned about skin color, I'm more concerned with real intelligence and character........ both of which Osama is seriously lacking in.
I hear and read that "George Soros" bullcrap all the time. What's up with that? So he's a billionnaire and donated some big bucks to Obama and the DNC. So??? Prove where George Soros has any influence over Washington policy. Not some asshole rightie's OPINION, but proof. If you've got none, then you just look like a parroting FOX fool.
Well we disagree again, because in spite of the number of times she spit out "my 35 years of experience", it just doesn't set right.
Actually, she had 16 years experience, but she couldn't sell the fact that she was part of every decision her husband ever made. He never made a decision without her in the room.
Hillary Clintons 35 Years of Experience
Hillary's 35 Years of*Experience - Real Clear Politics TIME.com
Ari Emanuel: The Curious Math of Hillary's "35 Years of Experience"
A Tentative Defense of Hillary's 35 Years of Experience. - The Stump
PolitiFact | Adding up Clinton's 35-year claim
Actually, she had 16 years experience, but she couldn't sell the fact that she was part of every decision her husband ever made. He never made a decision without her in the room.
Hillary Clintons 35 Years of Experience
Hillary's 35 Years of*Experience - Real Clear Politics TIME.com
Ari Emanuel: The Curious Math of Hillary's "35 Years of Experience"
A Tentative Defense of Hillary's 35 Years of Experience. - The Stump
PolitiFact | Adding up Clinton's 35-year claim
right. she doesn't have 35 years experience. she had 16. but she could only make light of 8 of them.
right. she doesn't have 35 years experience. she had 16. but she could only make light of 8 of them.
Please prove that she was in the room for every decision that Bill made - not including the bedroom (which we all know would be an unlikely meeting place).
right. she doesn't have 35 years experience. she had 16. but she could only make light of 8 of them.
Please prove that she was in the room for every decision that Bill made - not including the bedroom (which we all know would be an unlikely meeting place).
Well, I can't prove it. A biographer made the claim. Would it really surprise you that much if it were true?
Please prove that she was in the room for every decision that Bill made - not including the bedroom (which we all know would be an unlikely meeting place).
Well, I can't prove it. A biographer made the claim. Would it really surprise you that much if it were true?
Actually, yes.
Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and in 1977 was appointed to part-time chairman of the Legal Services Corporation by President Carter. As First Lady of Arkansas for a dozen years (1979-1981, 1983-1992), she chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services and the Children's Defense Fund. She also served on the boards of TCBY and Wal-Mart. In 1988 and 1991, The National Law Journal named her one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America. During the 1992 presidential campaign, she emerged as a dynamic and valued partner of her husband, and as president he named her to head the Task Force on National Health Reform (1993). The controversial commission produced a complicated plan which never came to the floor of either house. It was abandoned in September 1994.
Hillary (Rodham) Clinton Biography - Biography.com
Hillary Clinton was the only First Lady to keep an office in the West Wing among those of the president's senior staff. While her familiarity with the intricate political issues and decisions faced by the President, she openly discussed his work with him, yet stated that ultimately she was but one of several individuals he consulted before making a decision. They were known to disagree. Regarding his 1993 passage of welfare reform, the First Lady had reservations about federally supported childcare and Medicaid. When issues that she was working on were under discussion at the morning senior staff meetings, the First Lady often attended. Aides kept her informed of all pending legislation and oftentimes sought her reaction to issues as a way of gauging the President's potential response. Weighing in on his Cabinet appointments and knowing many of the individuals he named, she had working relationships with many of them. She persuaded Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to convene a meeting of corporate CEOs for their advice on how companies could be persuaded to adopt better child care measures for working families. With Attorney General Janet Reno, the First Lady helped to create the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women office. One of her closest Cabinet allies was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Following her international trips, Hillary Clinton wrote a report of her observations for Albright. A primary effort they shared was globally advocating gender equity in economics, employment, health care and education. During her trips to Africa (1997), Asia (1995), South America (1995, 1997) and the Central European former Soviet satellite nations (1997, 1998), Hillary Clinton emphasized "a civil society," of human rights as a road to democracy and capitalism. The First Lady was also one of the few international figures at the time who spoke out against the treatment of Afghani women by Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan. One of the programs she helped create was Vital Voices, a U.S.-sponsored initiative to promote the participation of international women in their nation's political process. One result of the group's meetings, in Northern Ireland, was drawing together women leaders of various political factions that supported the Good Friday peace agreement that brought peace to that nation long at civil war. Hillary Clinton was also an active supporter of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), often awarding its micro-loans to small enterprises begun by women in developing nations that aided the economic growth in their impoverished communities. Certainly one of her more important speeches as First Lady addressing the need for equal rights for women was international in scope and created controversy in the nation where it was made: the September 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
Hillary Clinton had encountered controversy from practically the beginning of her tenure.
By her having assuming a more overtly political role than any of her predecessors, Hillary Clinton was an easy target for the political opposition; oftentimes it was she personally that was attacked, beyond the words she spoke or actions she took. Much as Nancy Reagan had served as a target for her husband's opponents, so too did Hillary Clinton become a target for those who disagreed with the Administration. The American Conservative Union, for example, solicited money to fight what they termed the First Lady's "radical agenda." Not all of the controversy she engendered, however, was political. The same New York Times columnist, William Safire, who had attacked Nancy Reagan, now attacked Hillary Clinton. Much like Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady she most emulated and had studied, Hillary Clinton expected the partisan attacks as a result of activism. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, she wrote a newspaper column, a weekly syndicated piece, and made hundreds of speeches, oftentimes without notes. Also like Eleanor Roosevelt, she authored books during her tenure. For the spoken word version of her book regarding family policies, It Takes a Village, Hillary Clinton was the recipient of the recording industry's Grammy Award.
Just five months into the Administration, with the firing of the White House travel office staff, followed to months later by the suicide of Vincent Foster, White House counsel and friend and former law partner of the First Lady, Hillary Clinton found herself implicated in numerous investigations. At the end of 1993, a story broke in the media that a Justice Department investigation into a failed Arkansas real estate venture, concerning a potential development in the Ozarks called "Whitewater," mentioned her as a potential witness in the inquiry; there were immediate suggestions in the opposition press that she had somehow illegally profited. There was similar media speculation when it was disclosed that she had greatly profited in trading cattle futures through an experienced investor. All of this concerned matters long past to the 1992 campaign and the First Lady held an April 22, 1994 press conference in which she explained the details as proof of her not having taken any illegal actions. Political pressure, however, led to the President's appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the charges, a move the First Lady opposed. On January 26, 1996, she testified before a grand jury concerning the Whitewater scandal. Over time, the parameters of the investigation would enlarge to include other charges made against the President and First Lady that were questionable in their validity. In every case, the investigations led to no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In time, the personal behavior of the President during an illicit affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky would be the only charge in which he would be found guilty, leading to the historic articles of impeachment brought against him in late 1998, of which he was acquitted in February of 1999. During the Lewinsky scandal, Hillary Clinton supported her husband's contentions of innocence regarding marital infidelity, believing the rumors, along with the other charges, to be the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." In August 1998, however, when independent counsel Kenneth Starr questioned the President directly in the White House, he confessed that he had lied regarding the extent of the affair. Hillary Clinton later admitted to being deeply wounded personally yet focusing on the public repercussions of the President's disclosure, made a strong statement of commitment to him and the Administration, believing a private matter had been wrong turned into a political attack. Her support of him at that critical juncture was believed by many media commentators at that emotionally heightened time to be an important factor, if not the greatest factor, in preventing a call for his resignation.
Hillary Clinton did not ignore the traditional role of First Lady. With a lifelong interest in regional American history, she initiated the Save America's Treasures program, a national effort that matched federal funds to private donations to rescue from deterioration and neglect, or restore to completion many iconic historic items and sites, including the flag which inspired the Star Spangled Banner, and the National First Ladies Historic Site in Canton, Ohio. As part of the Millennium Project which she initiated, monthly lectures that considered both America's past and forecasted its future were held in the East Room, and one of these became the first live simultaneous webcast from the mansion. In the White House, she initiated the first Sculpture Garden, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned from museums in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on a rotating basis. In the White House state rooms, she placed on rotating display the donated handicrafts (pottery, glassware, etc.) of contemporary American artisans. She oversaw the restoration of the Blue Room on the state floor, and the redecoration of the Treaty Room into the President's study on the second floor. Using a unique venue of large white tents on the South Lawn that could accompany several thousand guests, she hosted many large entertainments, such as a St. Patrick's Day reception, a state dinner for visiting Chinese dignitaries, and a contemporary music concert that raised funds for music education in the public schools. For all the foods served in the White House, she hired a chef whose expertise was in American regional cooking. She also hosted a massive New Year's Eve party on the turning of the 20th century into the 21st century, as well as the November 2000 Bicentennial of the White House state dinner, an event at which more former Presidents and First Ladies were gathered together in the mansion than at any other time in its history.
In 1999, Hillary Clinton formed an exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of running for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (New York Democrat) and she officially declared herself a candidate for the position several months later. On November 7, 2000, Hillary Clinton became the first First Lady ever elected to public office, winning the U.S. Senate seat from New York State.
Hillary Clinton Biography :: National First Ladies' Library
Does that appear to present her as having been in the room for every decision?
Well, I can't prove it. A biographer made the claim. Would it really surprise you that much if it were true?
Actually, yes.
Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and in 1977 was appointed to part-time chairman of the Legal Services Corporation by President Carter. As First Lady of Arkansas for a dozen years (1979-1981, 1983-1992), she chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services and the Children's Defense Fund. She also served on the boards of TCBY and Wal-Mart. In 1988 and 1991, The National Law Journal named her one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America. During the 1992 presidential campaign, she emerged as a dynamic and valued partner of her husband, and as president he named her to head the Task Force on National Health Reform (1993). The controversial commission produced a complicated plan which never came to the floor of either house. It was abandoned in September 1994.
Hillary (Rodham) Clinton Biography - Biography.com
Hillary Clinton was the only First Lady to keep an office in the West Wing among those of the president's senior staff. While her familiarity with the intricate political issues and decisions faced by the President, she openly discussed his work with him, yet stated that ultimately she was but one of several individuals he consulted before making a decision. They were known to disagree. Regarding his 1993 passage of welfare reform, the First Lady had reservations about federally supported childcare and Medicaid. When issues that she was working on were under discussion at the morning senior staff meetings, the First Lady often attended. Aides kept her informed of all pending legislation and oftentimes sought her reaction to issues as a way of gauging the President's potential response. Weighing in on his Cabinet appointments and knowing many of the individuals he named, she had working relationships with many of them. She persuaded Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to convene a meeting of corporate CEOs for their advice on how companies could be persuaded to adopt better child care measures for working families. With Attorney General Janet Reno, the First Lady helped to create the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women office. One of her closest Cabinet allies was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Following her international trips, Hillary Clinton wrote a report of her observations for Albright. A primary effort they shared was globally advocating gender equity in economics, employment, health care and education. During her trips to Africa (1997), Asia (1995), South America (1995, 1997) and the Central European former Soviet satellite nations (1997, 1998), Hillary Clinton emphasized "a civil society," of human rights as a road to democracy and capitalism. The First Lady was also one of the few international figures at the time who spoke out against the treatment of Afghani women by Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan. One of the programs she helped create was Vital Voices, a U.S.-sponsored initiative to promote the participation of international women in their nation's political process. One result of the group's meetings, in Northern Ireland, was drawing together women leaders of various political factions that supported the Good Friday peace agreement that brought peace to that nation long at civil war. Hillary Clinton was also an active supporter of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), often awarding its micro-loans to small enterprises begun by women in developing nations that aided the economic growth in their impoverished communities. Certainly one of her more important speeches as First Lady addressing the need for equal rights for women was international in scope and created controversy in the nation where it was made: the September 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
Hillary Clinton had encountered controversy from practically the beginning of her tenure.
By her having assuming a more overtly political role than any of her predecessors, Hillary Clinton was an easy target for the political opposition; oftentimes it was she personally that was attacked, beyond the words she spoke or actions she took. Much as Nancy Reagan had served as a target for her husband's opponents, so too did Hillary Clinton become a target for those who disagreed with the Administration. The American Conservative Union, for example, solicited money to fight what they termed the First Lady's "radical agenda." Not all of the controversy she engendered, however, was political. The same New York Times columnist, William Safire, who had attacked Nancy Reagan, now attacked Hillary Clinton. Much like Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady she most emulated and had studied, Hillary Clinton expected the partisan attacks as a result of activism. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, she wrote a newspaper column, a weekly syndicated piece, and made hundreds of speeches, oftentimes without notes. Also like Eleanor Roosevelt, she authored books during her tenure. For the spoken word version of her book regarding family policies, It Takes a Village, Hillary Clinton was the recipient of the recording industry's Grammy Award.
Just five months into the Administration, with the firing of the White House travel office staff, followed to months later by the suicide of Vincent Foster, White House counsel and friend and former law partner of the First Lady, Hillary Clinton found herself implicated in numerous investigations. At the end of 1993, a story broke in the media that a Justice Department investigation into a failed Arkansas real estate venture, concerning a potential development in the Ozarks called "Whitewater," mentioned her as a potential witness in the inquiry; there were immediate suggestions in the opposition press that she had somehow illegally profited. There was similar media speculation when it was disclosed that she had greatly profited in trading cattle futures through an experienced investor. All of this concerned matters long past to the 1992 campaign and the First Lady held an April 22, 1994 press conference in which she explained the details as proof of her not having taken any illegal actions. Political pressure, however, led to the President's appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the charges, a move the First Lady opposed. On January 26, 1996, she testified before a grand jury concerning the Whitewater scandal. Over time, the parameters of the investigation would enlarge to include other charges made against the President and First Lady that were questionable in their validity. In every case, the investigations led to no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In time, the personal behavior of the President during an illicit affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky would be the only charge in which he would be found guilty, leading to the historic articles of impeachment brought against him in late 1998, of which he was acquitted in February of 1999. During the Lewinsky scandal, Hillary Clinton supported her husband's contentions of innocence regarding marital infidelity, believing the rumors, along with the other charges, to be the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." In August 1998, however, when independent counsel Kenneth Starr questioned the President directly in the White House, he confessed that he had lied regarding the extent of the affair. Hillary Clinton later admitted to being deeply wounded personally yet focusing on the public repercussions of the President's disclosure, made a strong statement of commitment to him and the Administration, believing a private matter had been wrong turned into a political attack. Her support of him at that critical juncture was believed by many media commentators at that emotionally heightened time to be an important factor, if not the greatest factor, in preventing a call for his resignation.
Hillary Clinton did not ignore the traditional role of First Lady. With a lifelong interest in regional American history, she initiated the Save America's Treasures program, a national effort that matched federal funds to private donations to rescue from deterioration and neglect, or restore to completion many iconic historic items and sites, including the flag which inspired the Star Spangled Banner, and the National First Ladies Historic Site in Canton, Ohio. As part of the Millennium Project which she initiated, monthly lectures that considered both America's past and forecasted its future were held in the East Room, and one of these became the first live simultaneous webcast from the mansion. In the White House, she initiated the first Sculpture Garden, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned from museums in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on a rotating basis. In the White House state rooms, she placed on rotating display the donated handicrafts (pottery, glassware, etc.) of contemporary American artisans. She oversaw the restoration of the Blue Room on the state floor, and the redecoration of the Treaty Room into the President's study on the second floor. Using a unique venue of large white tents on the South Lawn that could accompany several thousand guests, she hosted many large entertainments, such as a St. Patrick's Day reception, a state dinner for visiting Chinese dignitaries, and a contemporary music concert that raised funds for music education in the public schools. For all the foods served in the White House, she hired a chef whose expertise was in American regional cooking. She also hosted a massive New Year's Eve party on the turning of the 20th century into the 21st century, as well as the November 2000 Bicentennial of the White House state dinner, an event at which more former Presidents and First Ladies were gathered together in the mansion than at any other time in its history.
In 1999, Hillary Clinton formed an exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of running for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (New York Democrat) and she officially declared herself a candidate for the position several months later. On November 7, 2000, Hillary Clinton became the first First Lady ever elected to public office, winning the U.S. Senate seat from New York State.
Hillary Clinton Biography :: National First Ladies' Library
Does that appear to present her as having been in the room for every decision?
No, but that's the version you'd find in a high school history book.
Actually, yes.
Hillary joined the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock and in 1977 was appointed to part-time chairman of the Legal Services Corporation by President Carter. As First Lady of Arkansas for a dozen years (1979-1981, 1983-1992), she chaired the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee, co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families and served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital, Legal Services and the Children's Defense Fund. She also served on the boards of TCBY and Wal-Mart. In 1988 and 1991, The National Law Journal named her one of the 100 most powerful lawyers in America. During the 1992 presidential campaign, she emerged as a dynamic and valued partner of her husband, and as president he named her to head the Task Force on National Health Reform (1993). The controversial commission produced a complicated plan which never came to the floor of either house. It was abandoned in September 1994.
Hillary (Rodham) Clinton Biography - Biography.com
Hillary Clinton was the only First Lady to keep an office in the West Wing among those of the president's senior staff. While her familiarity with the intricate political issues and decisions faced by the President, she openly discussed his work with him, yet stated that ultimately she was but one of several individuals he consulted before making a decision. They were known to disagree. Regarding his 1993 passage of welfare reform, the First Lady had reservations about federally supported childcare and Medicaid. When issues that she was working on were under discussion at the morning senior staff meetings, the First Lady often attended. Aides kept her informed of all pending legislation and oftentimes sought her reaction to issues as a way of gauging the President's potential response. Weighing in on his Cabinet appointments and knowing many of the individuals he named, she had working relationships with many of them. She persuaded Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to convene a meeting of corporate CEOs for their advice on how companies could be persuaded to adopt better child care measures for working families. With Attorney General Janet Reno, the First Lady helped to create the Department of Justice's Violence Against Women office. One of her closest Cabinet allies was Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Following her international trips, Hillary Clinton wrote a report of her observations for Albright. A primary effort they shared was globally advocating gender equity in economics, employment, health care and education. During her trips to Africa (1997), Asia (1995), South America (1995, 1997) and the Central European former Soviet satellite nations (1997, 1998), Hillary Clinton emphasized "a civil society," of human rights as a road to democracy and capitalism. The First Lady was also one of the few international figures at the time who spoke out against the treatment of Afghani women by Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan. One of the programs she helped create was Vital Voices, a U.S.-sponsored initiative to promote the participation of international women in their nation's political process. One result of the group's meetings, in Northern Ireland, was drawing together women leaders of various political factions that supported the Good Friday peace agreement that brought peace to that nation long at civil war. Hillary Clinton was also an active supporter of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), often awarding its micro-loans to small enterprises begun by women in developing nations that aided the economic growth in their impoverished communities. Certainly one of her more important speeches as First Lady addressing the need for equal rights for women was international in scope and created controversy in the nation where it was made: the September 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China.
Hillary Clinton had encountered controversy from practically the beginning of her tenure.
By her having assuming a more overtly political role than any of her predecessors, Hillary Clinton was an easy target for the political opposition; oftentimes it was she personally that was attacked, beyond the words she spoke or actions she took. Much as Nancy Reagan had served as a target for her husband's opponents, so too did Hillary Clinton become a target for those who disagreed with the Administration. The American Conservative Union, for example, solicited money to fight what they termed the First Lady's "radical agenda." Not all of the controversy she engendered, however, was political. The same New York Times columnist, William Safire, who had attacked Nancy Reagan, now attacked Hillary Clinton. Much like Eleanor Roosevelt, the First Lady she most emulated and had studied, Hillary Clinton expected the partisan attacks as a result of activism. Like Eleanor Roosevelt, she wrote a newspaper column, a weekly syndicated piece, and made hundreds of speeches, oftentimes without notes. Also like Eleanor Roosevelt, she authored books during her tenure. For the spoken word version of her book regarding family policies, It Takes a Village, Hillary Clinton was the recipient of the recording industry's Grammy Award.
Just five months into the Administration, with the firing of the White House travel office staff, followed to months later by the suicide of Vincent Foster, White House counsel and friend and former law partner of the First Lady, Hillary Clinton found herself implicated in numerous investigations. At the end of 1993, a story broke in the media that a Justice Department investigation into a failed Arkansas real estate venture, concerning a potential development in the Ozarks called "Whitewater," mentioned her as a potential witness in the inquiry; there were immediate suggestions in the opposition press that she had somehow illegally profited. There was similar media speculation when it was disclosed that she had greatly profited in trading cattle futures through an experienced investor. All of this concerned matters long past to the 1992 campaign and the First Lady held an April 22, 1994 press conference in which she explained the details as proof of her not having taken any illegal actions. Political pressure, however, led to the President's appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the charges, a move the First Lady opposed. On January 26, 1996, she testified before a grand jury concerning the Whitewater scandal. Over time, the parameters of the investigation would enlarge to include other charges made against the President and First Lady that were questionable in their validity. In every case, the investigations led to no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton. In time, the personal behavior of the President during an illicit affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky would be the only charge in which he would be found guilty, leading to the historic articles of impeachment brought against him in late 1998, of which he was acquitted in February of 1999. During the Lewinsky scandal, Hillary Clinton supported her husband's contentions of innocence regarding marital infidelity, believing the rumors, along with the other charges, to be the result of a "vast right-wing conspiracy." In August 1998, however, when independent counsel Kenneth Starr questioned the President directly in the White House, he confessed that he had lied regarding the extent of the affair. Hillary Clinton later admitted to being deeply wounded personally yet focusing on the public repercussions of the President's disclosure, made a strong statement of commitment to him and the Administration, believing a private matter had been wrong turned into a political attack. Her support of him at that critical juncture was believed by many media commentators at that emotionally heightened time to be an important factor, if not the greatest factor, in preventing a call for his resignation.
Hillary Clinton did not ignore the traditional role of First Lady. With a lifelong interest in regional American history, she initiated the Save America's Treasures program, a national effort that matched federal funds to private donations to rescue from deterioration and neglect, or restore to completion many iconic historic items and sites, including the flag which inspired the Star Spangled Banner, and the National First Ladies Historic Site in Canton, Ohio. As part of the Millennium Project which she initiated, monthly lectures that considered both America's past and forecasted its future were held in the East Room, and one of these became the first live simultaneous webcast from the mansion. In the White House, she initiated the first Sculpture Garden, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned from museums in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden on a rotating basis. In the White House state rooms, she placed on rotating display the donated handicrafts (pottery, glassware, etc.) of contemporary American artisans. She oversaw the restoration of the Blue Room on the state floor, and the redecoration of the Treaty Room into the President's study on the second floor. Using a unique venue of large white tents on the South Lawn that could accompany several thousand guests, she hosted many large entertainments, such as a St. Patrick's Day reception, a state dinner for visiting Chinese dignitaries, and a contemporary music concert that raised funds for music education in the public schools. For all the foods served in the White House, she hired a chef whose expertise was in American regional cooking. She also hosted a massive New Year's Eve party on the turning of the 20th century into the 21st century, as well as the November 2000 Bicentennial of the White House state dinner, an event at which more former Presidents and First Ladies were gathered together in the mansion than at any other time in its history.
In 1999, Hillary Clinton formed an exploratory committee to pursue the possibility of running for the U.S. Senate seat to be vacated by Daniel Patrick Moynihan (New York Democrat) and she officially declared herself a candidate for the position several months later. On November 7, 2000, Hillary Clinton became the first First Lady ever elected to public office, winning the U.S. Senate seat from New York State.
Hillary Clinton Biography :: National First Ladies' Library
Does that appear to present her as having been in the room for every decision?
No, but that's the version you'd find in a high school history book.
I'm more than willing to review the version written by the biographer you referred to.
