In an era where women who seek the highest office of the land are still vilified (while a man is simply viewed as strong, confident, and ambitious) husband and former President Bill Clinton is quickly becoming his wife’s best character witness.
President Bill Clinton highlighted, with his charming, classic-Clinton anecdotes, Hillary’s long career on behalf of women, children, the under-privileged — the invisible. These are issues Hillary fought for long before she was ever an elected official. And by pointing this out, Hillary’s husband successfully vouched for her authenticity:
“There she was at Yale Law School. She could have written her ticket to go anywhere she wanted and all she was really interested in was providing legal services to poor people. She hadn’t been elected to anything, but everything she touched she made better.”
President Bill Clinton somehow makes you feel as though you’re the only person in the room when he speaks — giving us a sense of hope rather than fear. Try it sometime, Mr. Trump.
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He recalled falling in love with Hillary, remembering his wife as being part of a “distinct minority” of female law students at Yale University in the early 1970s:“This is what I want to say: things that a lot of you may not know,” the former president told the crowd. “When we got out (of law school) she could have gone to work, big law firm get a fancy clerkship. She took a job at the Children’s Defense Fund.”
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He remembered that Hillary had helped found an early education program for immigrant children in Arkansas and that she has investigated the placement of African-American children in adult prisons in South Carolina. In another anecdote, Bill said that Hillary as First Lady worked on a bill to reform foster care policy in the late 1990s with Tom DeLay, then a leading Republican in the House of Representatives:“He was the Ted Cruz of the pre-Tea Party era,” Bill said. “He disliked me, I think, more than anybody in Congress. She comes into see me one day, she said ‘I found it! I found it! … I found the human streak in Tom DeLay. He is an adoptive parent.”
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He recited figures reflecting the growth of the middle class and increased incomes for the poor during his two terms:“Compared with President Reagan’s term,” Bill said, “one hundred times as many people worked their way from poverty into the middle class. The top 5% actually did slightly better under President Reagan than me. Everybody else did better in the 1990s … We grew together.”
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—As First Lady of Arkansas, Hillary worked for the Children's Defense Fund, the Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services, cofounded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, secured federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas's poorest areas as chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee, successfully reformed the Arkansas education system as chair of the Arkansas Educational Standards Committee while Bill was Governor, and became the first female partner of the Rose Law Firm.
—As First Lady of the United States, Hillary increased research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health, helped to create the Office on Violence Against Women and the Campaign Against Teenage Pregnancy which reduced abortion rates by providing women with accurate information and contraception, in addition to highly significant achievements such as the Adoption and Safe Families Act, the Foster Care Independence Act, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which currently provides 8+ million children with health insurance.
Other accomplishments:
—Hillary has worked closely with the Human Rights Campaign on a variety of issues over the years. Hillary has correctly noted she was the first First Lady to march in a gay pride parade. As New York Senator, Hillary fought for stronger hate crime laws and anti-discrimination laws. As Secretary of State, Hillary enacted lifesaving policies and programs that saved LGBT people around the globe, historically declaring on the world stage: "Gay rights are human rights."
—Fighting and achieving the necessary healthcare for 9/11 first responders as New York Senator.
—Secretary of State: New START treaty with Russia, ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, promoting and protecting the rights of women and the LGBT community worldwide, our “pivot” to Asia strategy – visiting Burma for the first time in over 40 years, and improving the favorability of the U.S. by 20 points worldwide after the disastrous Bush Administration.
Hillary has always stood with women, the middle-class, children, the under-privileged — the invisible:
Bill Clinton | Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Democratic National Convention in New York | July 16, 1992
VIDEO @ 11:17 | Bill Clinton:
I learned a lot from another person too: a person who for more than 20 years has worked hard to help our children, paying the price of time to make sure our schools don't fail them. Someone who traveled our state for a year, studying, learning, listening, going to PTA meetings, school board meetings, town hall meetings, putting together a package of school reforms recognized around the Nation, and doing it all while building a distinguished legal career and being a wonderful, loving mother.
That person is my wife.
Hillary taught me. She taught me that all children can learn and that each of us has a duty to help them do it.
So if you want to know why I care so much about our children, and our future, it all started with Hillary. I love you.
History will look at Hillary Clinton as someone who never gave up and continued to succeed, despite being knocked down over and over again. She will be seen as a polarizing trailblazer who finally found her voice — leading to eventual success as First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State.
Once in positions of power, Hillary is ruthless when it comes to effectively advocating for her positions and destroying the opposition. This is why Republicans have fought [and failed] to stop her political career from climbing to new heights.
Hillary's resilience is unparalleled. She bounces back in the face of defeat because she's smart, articulate, and tough.
Many of Hillary's colleagues have often noted that she is almost always the most knowledgeable person in the room about any given issue. Her knowledge, persistence, and stamina is an unstoppable combination. Her perseverance, despite being attacked daily for the last 30 years, is a testament to her political skill and brilliance.
Former President Bill Clinton, the other half of this political powerhouse, often describes Hillary as the most competent person in his generation. I couldn't agree more. So although she may have been too polarizing to win the Presidency in 2008, we can all be certain that if given the opportunity, she would have been one of the most competent and successful President's in our lifetime. And I hope she is given another chance in 2016.
As Chris Matthews noted on MSNBC last night, when people start attacking Hillary for her husband’s infidelities, it tends to backfire. The public reacts with not only sympathy towards Hillary, but looks at her with admiration for staying strong in the face of excruciating public, personal pain. And for continuing to succeed despite it. As Matthews points out, Hillary went on to win twice as New York Senator:
Heidi, you're on to something here. Women will react to this in what way? Because I do believe that anyone who covered that whole situation in '98, left, right or center, knew that Hillary Clinton was shocked by it. Knew that she was overwhelmed by the horror of the whole thing. Humiliated by it, you might say.
Of course she came back strong and showed her resolve and went out campaigned for Chuck Schumer and she went out and built her own political career. But she was able to do that through strength.
But nobody I've ever heard has ever said she was an enabler of Monica Lewinsky.
It's beyond indecent. It's beyond indecent, I think. Your thoughts?
And by the way, just to make the point clear here, it wasn't just sympathy for Hillary. I think the way she showed her strength after that whole incident and the way she put herself together, dealt with the situation, carried on as a partisan and came on as much more of an independent political figure than she had been before. A lot of strength was shown there.
Anyway, thank you, Heidi Przybyla. Thank you, so much, [Washington Examiner correspondent] David Drucker. More with you next time.
And a reminder:
Hardball has the first interview of 2016 with Hillary Clinton tomorrow night.We want you to know what you have to ask us. Give us some ideas. Tweet us your questions using the hashtag HRConHardball. HRConHardball. Or send us your questions via Facebook. Find us at Facebook.com/Hardball.
Hillary will be appearing on Hardball with Chris Matthews tonight. I’ll be tuning in. A must-watch!
"After all that has happened since [our wedding day], I’m often asked why Bill and I have stayed together. It’s not a question I welcome, but given the public nature of our lives, it’s one I know will be asked again and again. What can I say to explain a love that has persisted for decades and has grown through our shared experiences of parenting a daughter, burying our parents, tending to our extended families, a lifetime’s worth of friends, a common faith, and an abiding commitment to our country? All I know is that no one understands me better and no one can make me laugh the way Bill does. Even after all of these years, he is still the most interesting, energizing, and fully alive person I have ever met. Bill Clinton and I started a conversation in the spring of 1971, and more than thirty years later we’re still talking.”~Hillary Rodham Clinton
“I noticed that he kept looking over at me. He had been doing that a lot. So I stood up from the desk, walked over to him and said, ‘If you’re going to keep looking at me, and I’m going to keep looking back, we might as well be introduced. I’m Hillary Rodham.’ That was it. The way Bill tells the story, he couldn’t remember his own name.“~Hillary Rodham Clinton
Just think how remarkable of a story it will be if Hillary Clinton becomes President in 2016.
Two people who both had the right combination of what it takes to be President of the United States found and married each other. Just think about that for a moment.
What are the odds? What are the chances? Has it ever happened before in human history? Will it ever happen again?
Both Bill and Hillary were not born into financially well-off families, nor politically connected families. Together, they built the Clinton name from scratch using only their natural given talent, intelligence, and determination.
This is already the most remarkable story of any couple in history.
In 2016, let’s make it that much more remarkable.
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