Democratic Party Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton looks set to become the next President of the USA. But experts say it is early in the election campaign. The 2008 White House Race still has quite a distance to go.
Growing up – Hillary was a Student Leader
Hillary Diane Rodham, first child of Dorothy and Hugh Rodham, was born on October 26, 1947. Two brothers, Hugh and Tony, soon followed. The children were raised in a middle-class family in Park Ridge, Illinois.
The life that Hugh and Dorothy created for Hillary and her two brothers was a classic 1950s middle-class suburban childhood. Faith was central to the family. Hillary Rodham loved sports and church, was a member of the National Honor Society and a student leader.
After school, Hillary went to Wellesley College, where she was chosen by her classmates to be the first-ever student commencement speaker. Next in 1969, came Yale Law School. At Yale she served on the Board of Editors of Yale Law Review and Social Action, interned with children's advocate Marian Wright Edelman and met Bill Clinton.
Hillary Rodham Clinton - Mother and Advocate
After serving as only one of two women lawyers on the staff of the House Judiciary Committee considering the impeachment of Richard Nixon, Hillary chose not to pursue offers from major law firms. Instead she followed her heart and a charismatic man named Bill Clinton to Arkansas where they married in 1975. Their daughter, Chelsea was born in 1980.
Hillary ran a legal aid clinic for the poor when she first got to Arkansas and handled cases of foster care and child abuse. When Bill Clinton was elected Governor of Arkansas, Hillary continued to advocate for children. She served as Arkansas's First Lady for 12 years. Hillary was twice named one of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.
Bill and Hillary Clinton Move to the White House
When her husband was elected President in 1992, Hillary's work as a champion for women was recognized and admired around the world.
The 1995 book It Takes a Village, about the responsibility we all have to help children succeed, became an international best seller for Hillary Clinton and she received a Grammy Award for her recording of it.
Hillary's autobiography, Living History, was also a best seller. It has been translated into 12 languages and sold over 1.3 million copies.
As First Lady, her public involvement with many activities sometimes led to controversy, but she also won many admirers for her staunch support for women around the world and her commitment to children's issues.
Former First Lady Becomes Senator Clinton
In 2000, Democratic Party Candidate, Hillary Clinton was elected to the United States Senate from New York. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Hillary worked with her colleagues to secure the funds New York needed to recover and rebuild.
She is the first New Yorker ever to serve on the Senate Armed Services Committee. She is also the first First Lady elected to the United States Senate and the first woman elected statewide in New York.
In 2006, New Yorkers reelected Hillary to the Senate with 67 percent of the vote.
White House Race 2008
So, is Hillary Rodham Clinton going to the White House in 2008 as President
- Visit Democratic Party Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s official online Office in the Senate
- Spend some time on Hillary Clinton’s official, MySpace Page and become her friend by putting a “I’m not only voting for Hillary, she’s my friend” sticker on your profile.
- To keep up with Hillary’s progress in the 2008 White House Race, drop in at the Election Center at CNN and see how the land lies for the Democratic Party front runner from New York. Check out the polls; examine her issues and see who her supporters and advisers are in the 2008 Presidential Race.
- Yes the Hill, is on Facebook too - and she's got over 50 thousand friends.
- And on flickr.
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Karen Lotter - Karen Lotter is a journalist and writer based in Durban, South Africa. She has written profiles, features, advertising copy, ...
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