The Long Road
(10 of 12)
The convention also illustrated -- though far offstage -- Hillary Clinton's role as something close to a co-campaign manager for her husband. While she is not in charge of anything specific, she gets in on many decisions, frequently helping to cut through confusion and bring rambling discussions to a focus. Clinton has a tendency to listen to everyone interminably and let discussions drag. Hillary, says one of her advisers, is frequently the one to say, "O.K., we've had enough discussion, let's get this resolved." Betsey Wright, long Clinton's chief of staff and now a sort of "secretary of defense" for the campaign, formulating quick answers to any attack on Clinton's record, adds that while Bill usually determines what needs to be done, Hillary is often the one who sees to it that someone specific is assigned to carry out the task. Before the convention, Bill asked Hillary to firm up the list of speakers. She quizzed various party officials in her prosecutorial style, wanting to hear good arguments to justify every choice. Says Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, a Hollywood producer and friend of Hillary's: "She's very savvy about people. She's very savvy about what makes ((Bill)) look good. And she's very savvy about the people who make him look good."
Related Articles
The big decision -- the choice of a vice-presidential candidate -- however, was Bill Clinton's alone. How he made it, says one aide, illustrates how he is likely to make decisions in the White House -- if he gets there. His method is to solicit ideas from many friends and aides and often virtually to assign a particular associate the task of arguing for or against one particular choice. The aide in question, who had for a time been watching Tsongas on the campaign trail, began getting late-night calls from Clinton, who would ask, "O.K., why should Paul Tsongas not be my running mate?" Clinton would then merely listen, without comment, while the aide made his argument.
Tsongas did not make the final list of six candidates: Harris Wofford, who had pulled an enormous upset by winning a Pennsylvania senatorial election in 1991; Florida Senator Bob Graham; West Virginia Senator Jay Rockefeller; Indiana Congressman Lee Hamilton; Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey, a war-hero opponent of Clinton's in the early primaries; and Al Gore. The Tennessee Senator seemed an unlikely choice. A Southerner from a neighboring state, he hardly gives the ticket much balance, and Clinton had refused Gore's bid for support in Gore's 1988 presidential campaign. This time, though, Clinton developed such deep rapport with Gore in a 90-minute meeting that he picked the Tennessean immediately. It turned out an inspired choice. Not only Bill and Al, but Hillary and Tipper Gore, got along so well that they campaigned for a while as a team, impressing friendly crowds as two engaging couples on what looked at times like a happy double date.
After the Cyclone: Fear and Disease
Robert Rauschenberg's TIME covers
Why U.S. Infants Die Too Often
Me and My Bipolar Disorder
Surrendering to Hizballah
The 10 Best Moms Ever
Cartoons of the Week
Nicaragua's Great Leap Forward
The New James Frey: A Review