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Hillary Rodham Clinton likes to say she was born in the middle of the country at the middle of the century, in a Chicago suburb that defined a childhood out of "Father Knows Best" or "Ozzie and Harriet." Years later, a group of her old teachers and classmates got together with her to reminisce, with a historian to moderate. During the round of introductions, Clinton's second-grade teacher turned to her and deadpanned: "And who are you?" "Oh yes," said the first lady of the United States. "This is the question we're all trying to answer." Clinton has charted a decade...

WINTERSET, Iowa - Three generations of Clinton women hit the trail vowing "change across the generations" as Hillary Rodham Clinton stepped up her pitch to the women voters who could hold the key to Iowa's caucuses, which will launch the presidential nominating season in less than four weeks. "We're getting close to the caucuses," said Clinton. "I always think it's better to go to the caucuses with a buddy. Today, I've got some buddies with me." Those "buddies" included 88-year-old mother Dorothy Rodham and 27-year-old daughter Chelsea Clinton, making her first appearance with her mother on the trail in the...

When the hostages had been released and their alleged captor arrested, a regal-looking Hillary Rodham Clinton strolled out of her Washington home, the picture of calm in the face of crisis. The image, broadcast just as the network news began, conveyed the message a thousand town hall meetings and campaign commercials strive for — namely, that the Democratic presidential contender can face disorder in a most orderly manner. "I am very grateful that this difficult day has ended so well," she declared as she stood alone at the microphone. Little more than three hours later, just in time for the...

It's very easy to fall behind the times.  It is for this reason that you find parents who never seem to really know what the younger generation is involved in, older folks who still act as if a hot dog should be 10 cents, and people who fight yesterday's social battles.  As to the last thing, there are those who ask if a woman can be elected president. The real question is, can a man running against a woman be elected president? With androgyny being the order of the day, it has often been lamented that men no longer know...

I've seen up close the two Clintons America knows. He's a big smile, hand locked on your arm and lots of charms. "Hey, come down and speak at my library. I'd like to talk some politics with you." And her? She tends to be, well, hard and brittle. I inherited her West Wing office. Shortly after the 2001 Inauguration, I made a little talk saying I appreciated having the office because it had the only full-length vanity mirror in the West Wing, which gave me a chance to improve my rumpled appearance. The senator from New York confronted me shortly...

I am continually amazed by the number of knowledgeable conservatives who underestimate Sen. Hillary Clinton's popularity. I'm equally surprised that the general public can't see through her obsessive desire to capture the White House -- and therefore her unacknowledged but likely wish to see Sen. John Kerry and Sen. John Edwards lose in November. First, the news that Republicans and conservatives never want to hear or believe: Sen. Hillary Clinton is the one person among Democrats who this year could have sailed to a virtually guaranteed win against President Bush in the general election. What? This overwhelmingly liberal, conniving and...

The contrast between Sen. John Edwards’s empathetic, warm, evocative speech at the Democratic convention and Sen. Hillary Clinton's rote, tinny partisanship was all too obvious. If the former first lady thinks she can roll over Edwards, even if his ticket loses in November, she has another thing coming. The impact of Edwards’s speech will not soon dissipate. A national convention has not heard the likes of his speech in some time. His content was Clintonesque. His delivery had the compelling, uplifting quality of Martin Luther King Jr. His emotionality was worthy of Reagan. He is a star. Hillary only has...

NICHOLS NOTES HEAR IT FIRST BY LARRY NICHOLS THE NEWS BEFORE IT IS NEWS Volume II - Issue 03 - January 17, 2004 WHEN IS CONFUSION CONSISTENT? There are very few times in life when things are so confusing that create an atmosphere of clarity. The confusion that I am talking about has to do with the Democratic Party and the nine, now eight, candidates running for that party's nomination for the Presidency of The United States in 2004. At this stage in the primary process, it is normal not know which candidate will actually win; after all we still...