On the Move With Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.)

The New York Times Magazine ^ | September 9, 2001 | DIANA WALKER Text by DEE DEE MYERS

[sarcasm]

Diana Walker

Day 1: July 19, 2001, 2:55 p.m. Senator Hillary Clinton of New York waits in the President's Room of the Capitol for a meeting with Senators Harry Reid of Nevada and James M. Jeffords of Vermont, fellow members of the Environment and Public Works Committee.

  

  

Full Coverage
The Recent Clippings of Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush

Introduction: In the Balance

The First Lady Who'd Prefer to Be Mrs.Bush

In Destiny's Child, Only One Girl Can Sing Lead

The Alternate Reality of the Prettiest Girl

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Diana Walker

Day 2: July 28, 2001, 9:30 p.m. After a long round of appearances in upstate New York, Senator Clinton flies home to Westchester.

---

n so many ways her life seems smaller now. The stages are smaller, the crowds are smaller and the planes are certainly smaller. Long motorcades with blaring sirens have become just a couple of cars. And the crush of reporters and Secret Service agents has thinned, making room for ordinary people seeking a handshake, an autograph, a hug. Once a singular figure, as famous as any woman on earth, she now waits -- feet up, cell phone pressed to her ear -- for men who used to be at her beck and call.

And yet. As Diana Walker's intimate photographs of two days in her life reveal, Hillary Rodham Clinton's transition to United States senator -- in her bearing and purpose, as much as in her official capacity -- seems effortless and complete. And in her new role, she seems freer; not less, just more her own woman.

When Mrs. Clinton first announced plans to run for the Senate -- in a state where she had never lived -- many (including me) doubted her decision. She was leaving a position where she was utterly without peer; did it make sense for her to get into a risky campaign to become one of a hundred? Couldn't she accomplish more by leveraging her fame atop a global foundation created to pursue her goals?

But Hillary had other plans. She became a candidate and then a senator. By all accounts, it's a job she loves, from the policy debates and the news conferences (where she's often the fifth or sixth speaker) to the deal-making and weekend trips to her adopted state.

Mrs. Clinton was a profoundly polarizing first lady. A talented and ambitious woman, she nevertheless owed her power to her husband's job. And she felt caught between her desire to exercise that power and the public's ambivalence about it. Worse, she knew that her fortunes would rise and fall with those of the man she had married. Collateral power, collateral damage.

Perhaps that was why Hillary never seemed completely at ease in the role of president's wife. She grew in the job, to be sure: she became an accomplished public speaker, an energetic advocate, a gracious hostess. But in the private moments that I saw during my years at the White House, she often butted heads with the president's staff. Sometimes she felt we weren't protecting her husband. More often, it seemed, she felt we were protecting him at her expense. She chafed at her secondary role and longed for something more.

She seems to have found it. As a senator, Mrs. Clinton seems serious, no doubt because she is. But she also seems lighter, perhaps because the job is hers. Her vision. Her agenda. Her energy. She will succeed based on how she, and she alone, performs.

Only time will tell what kind of impact Hillary Clinton will have on the United States Senate -- or what kind of impact the Senate will have on her. To be sure, there will be people on the Hill and around the country who will dedicate themselves to defeating her agenda, just as surely as the faithful will rally around her. But at the moment, Hillary Clinton is a United States senator. Maybe one of a hundred is big enough after all.

[sarcasm]

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[billorites]

I see that Dee Dee is still drinking.

[dighton]

Gee, a saint walks among us.

[bvw]

[MUDDOG]

More often, it seemed, she felt we were protecting him at her expense.

Like something had to be done about Vince.

[sarcasm]

Gee, a saint walks among us.

The new Mother Theresa.

[mountaineer]

And the crush of reporters and Secret Service agents has thinned, making room for ordinary people seeking a handshake, an autograph, a hug.

The creature who wouldn't permit the "ordinary" White House staffers even to look upon her countenance now dispenses hugs and handshakes? Any truth to the rumor that Dee Dee and Vince Foster had a quickie at her apt. shortly before he set out to Fort Marcy Park to, ahem, commit suicide? She's still sucking down the Clinton kool-aid, it seems.

[NYC GOP Chick]

A talented and ambitious woman, she nevertheless owed her power to her husband's job. And she felt caught between her desire to exercise that power and the public's ambivalence about it. Worse, she knew that her fortunes would rise and fall with those of the man she had married. Collateral power, collateral damage.

That's because she has derived all her power from that philandering tub of lard. Even the "star power" that got her elected is derived from him.

Sometimes she felt we weren't protecting her husband. More often, it seemed, she felt we were protecting him at her expense. She chafed at her secondary role and longed for something more.

No kidding.

The Hillary Watch is ON!

[sarcasm]

ping

[backhoe]

Lest America ever forget why X-42, W(B)-97, and all their enablers should be hectored, hounded, and harried into silence, until "clintonese is only spoken in Hell," look here:

-Murder, Inc.--

-The number of "suicides" for people linked to this and other Clinton-related cases--

-ATTENTION BLOODHOUNDS--

-Women in the Clinton Era: Abuse,Intimidation and Smears--

Clinton, China, Money, Loral & Treason

-Loads of corruption links--

-Presidential Treason 105- Part 3 of the Clinton/China Connection--

-SEND JUANITA BROADDRICK VIDEO TO THOSE WHO WANT CLINTON TO SPEAK--

- info about Juanita Broaddrick's ordeal--

-The Anti-Hillary Homepage by MrBungle--

The Hillary Watch is ON!

-Hillary Clinton-What America Needs to Know--

-Sen. Hillary Clinton--NewsMax.com Hot Topics--

If you only read one link, make it "Murder, Inc."

[EllaMinnow]

Geez, and I thought it was the black pantsuit that was chafing her.

[swampfox98]

Curse of the mummy.

[NYC GOP Chick]

Geez, and I thought it was the black pantsuit that was chafing her.

Come to think of it, she wore the black pantsuit -- with the yellow sweater over the shoulders -- in the NYC Labor Day parade this afternoon. Of course, on top of that stink pile was a parade sash.

I swear, that pantsuit probably could have marched the parade route by itself! ;-)

[b4its2late]

Sure glad I didn't miss this one! /sarcasm

[Cindy]

[Libertina]

Is she smoking a cigar?

[ladyinred]

There is a move by the media to promote Hillary again. Vanity Fair has a honey dripping article praising her brillant Senatoring and now this one. You would think she was the only so called junior senator in history!
She somehow got one of the top offices reserved usually for more senior members, btw, and was said to be adored by all, including republicans on the Hill. Oh yes, it was sappy!
My favorite line was the opening, from behind, she looks like a man, or words to that effect! LOL It seems like she is being annointed for bigger and better things by her adoring media, something that strikes fear into my heart!