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Through many years in the public eye, Hillary Clintons image has evolved from that of a sharp-edged campaigner, who in 1992 offended legions of women with her comments seeming to dismiss baking cookies, to the experienced stateswoman of today.

New memos released Friday from Hillary and Bill Clintons eight years in the White House chart the exhaustive work that went into crafting the first ladys image revealing the advice Clinton received and the debate among her aides about how to help her as she embarked on a controversial attempt to transform the nations healthcare system, as well asinitiatives to draw attention to the rights of women and girls.

The most direct of the newly-released memos was a July 1999 missive from advisor Mandy Grunwald to Hillary Clinton as the first lady was preparing for a tour that would launch her 2000 bid to become the U.S. senator for New York. Grunwald advised Clinton to adopt a chatty, intimate, informal tone keeping her public discussions conversational rather than raising her voice and turning her statements into a speech.

Dont be defensive. Look like you want the questions, Grunwald wrote, warning that reporters would pounce on any answer that seemed testy. Even on the annoying questions, give relaxed answers.

Grunwald urged Clinton to be real and assume that New Yorkers knew little about her beyond her interest in healthcare, children and then a lot of tabloid junk.

Look for opportunities for humor, Grunwald wrote. Its important that people see more sides of you, and they often see you only in very stern situations.

As Clinton prepared to move into her own political career, Grunwald argued that she should create distance from her husband rather than using the administrations record as your own.

Youve spent a lot of years saying, My husband did X. This trip is about you. And you are not an incumbent. If you want to talk about something like the (Children's Health Insurance Program), talk about what you did, the memo said.

The missives, circulated among the heavily-female cadre of Clinton's top advisors, show early in the White House careful attention years to convincing reporters that Clinton was not locked down in a bunker mentality, and to fostering Clintons connection to American women as she spoke on womens rights at events around the world.

As Clinton prepared for an appearance at the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing an event that laid the groundwork for a Clinton Foundation initiative on women and girls that the former secretary of State spoke about a few weeks ago Clinton aide Lisa Caputo stressed the importance of bringing your trip to Beijing home through listening sessions with working women and young women in the U.S.

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1990s advice to Hillary Clinton: 'Don't be defensive'