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In Hillary and Bill, William H. Chafe boldly argues that the trajectory of the Clintons' political lives can be understood only through the prism of their personal relationship. Inseparable from the day they first met, their personal dynamic has determined their political fates. Hillary was instrumental in Bill's triumphs as Arkansas's governor, and she saved his presidential candidacy in 1992 during the Gennifer Flowers sex scandal. He responded by delegating to her powers that no other First Lady had ever exercised. Chafe's penetrating insights--into subjects such as health care, Kenneth Starr, welfare reform, and the Lewinsky scandal--add texture and depth to our understanding of the Clintons' experience together. Hillary and Bill is the definitive account of the Clintons' relationship and its far-reaching impact on American political life.
In this new edition, Chafe explores how Hillary adopted a new persona as a U.S. senator, returning to the consensus-oriented reformer she had been before she met Bill. Listening to her constituents and building bridges to Republicans in Congress, she left behind the us-against-them political personality of her White House years. She kept this persona as secretary of state, establishing personal ties with foreign leaders and reaching out to average citizens in the countries she visited. Still, she retained her obsession with her personal privacy and permitted the Clinton Foundation to create potential conflicts of interest with her government responsibilities. The key question, as she approached the 2016 presidential race, was which Hillary would be the presidential candidate--the person who reaches out to others and seeks collaborators or the Hillary who demonizes the opposition and fiercely protects her privacy and self-image.
List of contents
Introduction to the New Edition 1
1. Bill Clinton: The Early Years 5
2. Hillary Rodham: The Early Years 33
3. Oxford and the Draft: A Test of Character 48
4. Hillary and Bill at Yale: Two Destinies Intersect 65
5. The Arkansas Years, Part One: 1973–80 85
6. The Arkansas Years, Part Two: 1980–91 112
7. "There Is a Place Called Hope" 135
8. The First Year 165
9. The Health Care Debacle and the Emergence of Kenneth Starr 205
10. Comeback Number Three 233
11. The Roller Coaster Plummets 268
12. Survival—and a New Beginning 300
13. It's My Turn 313
14. Madame Secretary 329
15. What If? 354
Notes 361
A Note on Sources 387
Acknowledgments 391
Index 395
About the author
William H. Chafe
Summary
Revised and Expanded with two new chapters on Hillary Clinton’s career as a U.S. Senator, Secretary of State, and presidential candidate.
