Hillary Clinton Struggled to Find 92 Role, Confidante Recounts
As important as she was in her husbands political ascent, Hillary Clinton had difficulty carving out a proper role to play in Bill Clintons first campaign for the White House, a new batch of interviews with former Clinton campaign and White House aides shows.
One confidante of Mrs. Clinton said she had to intervene with Mr. Clintons 1992 presidential campaign team in to drive home the message that they couldnt just treat her as campaign wife.
Susan Thomases shared her perspective with the University of Virginias Miller Center, which has conducted extensive interviews with key figures in Bill Clintons campaigns and presidency as part of its Clinton Presidential History Project. The school released transcripts of 47 interviews last week and made public another 15 interviews on Monday, including its Q-and-A with Ms. Thomases.
Ms. Thomases served as an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and also had a star turn in Joe Kleins 1996 book Primary Colors as the model for the character Lucille Kaufmann (Actress Caroline Aaron played the role in the movie version).
Ms. Thomases said she made a trip to New Hampshire before the states primary in February 1992 to help the campaign focus on how they were going to use Hillary Clinton.
She added: They could not simply put her on the sidelines; they had to fully integrate her into the campaign and accept the fact that she had to be a major decision-maker in the campaign. They couldnt just treat her as a campaign wife. They had to include her and understand the relationship between the Clintons, and that she was going to be included in all decision making.
Mrs. Clinton, the presumed front-runner in the 2016 presidential race, had a difficult time finding her footing after her arrival on the national political stage in 1992. As an accomplished lawyer in her own right, she sometimes struggled to assert herself on policy and political matters without offending voters accustomed to spouses keeping a lower profile. She caused a kerfuffle in in the 92 race when she told reporters that she had chosen to pursue her legal career rather than stay home and bake cookies.
Ms. Thomases was determined that Bill Clintons campaign not marginalize Mrs. Clinton.
They pigeonholed her, Ms. Thomases said It was really complicated. Some of it was the campaigns decisions, some of it was her performance, and some of it was the publics perception of her. She was so strong a personality that there were people who felt that when they were together, her strong personality made him seem weaker. I didnt feel that way, but there were others who did.
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Hillary Clinton Struggled to Find 92 Role, Confidante Recounts