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More On Hillary's Accomplishments
This information all comes from Wikipedia. If you want to refute it's validity, feel free to do it with them, as I'm sure most of you knows how democratic the site is.
Starting with the Senate:
Upon entering the United States Senate, Clinton maintained a low public profile, built relationships with senators from both parties [118][199][200][201] and forged alliances with religiously-inclined senators by becoming a regular participant in the Senate Prayer Breakfast.[124][202]
Clinton has served on five Senate committees: Committee on Budget (2001–2002),[203] Committee on Armed Services (since 2003),[204] Committee on Environment and Public Works (since 2001),[203] Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (since 2001)[203] and Special Committee on Aging.[205] She is also a Commissioner of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe[206] (since 2001).[207]
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clinton sought to obtain funding for the recovery efforts in New York City and security improvements in her state. Working with New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, she was instrumental in quickly securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site's redevelopment.[208][209][210] She subsequently took a leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders.[211]
Then from early on through First Lady:
Rodham maintained her interest in children's law and family policy, publishing the scholarly articles "Children's Policies: Abandonment and Neglect" in 1977[72] and "Children's Rights: A Legal Perspective" in 1979.[73] The latter continued her argument that legal competence of children depended upon their age and other circumstances, and that in cases of serious medical rights judicial intervention is sometimes warranted.[51] An American Bar Association chair later said, "Her articles were important, not because they were radically new but because they helped formulate something that had been inchoate."[51] Historian Garry Wills would later term her "one of the more important scholar-activists of the last two decades",[74] while conservatives said her theories would usurp traditional parental authority,[75] allow children to file frivolous lawsuits against their parents,[51] and considered her work part of legal "crit" theory run amok.[76]
Rodham co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund, in 1977.[33][77] In late 1977, President Jimmy Carter (for whom Rodham had done 1976 campaign coordination work in Indiana)[78] appointed her to the board of directors of the Legal Services Corporation,[79] and she served in that capacity from 1978 until the end of 1981.[80] For much of that time[81] she served as the chair of that board, the first woman to do so.[82] During her time as chair, funding for the Corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million,[70] and she successfully battled against President Ronald Reagan's initial attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization.[70]
Clinton served on the boards of the Arkansas Children's Hospital Legal Services (1988–1992)[102] and the Children's Defense Fund (as chair, 1986–1992).[103][10]
She was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree[117] and to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House.[118] She was also the first to take up an office in the West Wing of the White House:[48] the First Lady usually stays in the East Wing. She is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history, save for Eleanor Roosevelt.[119]
Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, she was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage.[139] She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare.[140] She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health.[48] The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.[48] Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice.[48] In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.[48] As First Lady, Clinton hosted numerous White House Conferences, including ones on Child Care (1997),[141] Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997),[142] and Children and Adolescents (2000),[143] and the first-ever White House Conferences on Teenagers (2000)[144] and Philanthropy (1999).[145]
Hillary Clinton traveled to 79 countries during this time,[146] breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.[147] In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in China itself,[148] declaring "that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights"[148] and resisting Chinese pressure to soften her remarks.[146] She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.[149][150] She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries.[151]
Comments (22)
You left out Clinton's pandering vote to illegalize flag burning after the Supreme Court, including Atilla Scalia, ruled that Congress could not Constitutionally ban flag burning.
Oh, and here vote against an amendment to "to block use of the deadly munitions near populated areas"
February 20, 2008 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am not trying to "challenge" any of the above, but a lot of that stuff is rather hard to fit (to my mind) into the category of her "accomplishments." Attended prayer breakfasts? Sat on this or that committee? These are not really "accomplishments" so much as means towards accomplishments. Did she actually manage to use her position on those committees, for instance, to achieve some end which democrats would value? If so, then that (the end achieved) is an accomplishment; if not, then her presence on the committee is more of a missed opportunity than an "accomplishment" per se.
February 20, 2008 5:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's what the repubs said about Eleanor Roosevelt when she was appointed to the U.N. charter comm. "What the heck has she done, it's not like she's ever held elective office..."
February 20, 2008 5:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
I would submit that you have misread my post, because I am definitely not saying that she has no accomplishments to her credit. I am perfectly willing to agree that, for instance, working with Sen Kennedy for S-CHIP in 1997 is something worth bragging about. My point was that NG has mixed a great deal of filler into the list of accomplishments. Some of these items are real accomplishments and others (such as attending prayer breakfasts) are not so much "accomplishments" as they are (at best) means employed towards the achieving of an accomplishments.
February 20, 2008 6:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
I realize that some of this is "filler" but I left that filler in there to show a sense of her understanding of the need to build relationships in order to forward your agenda. I think it's relevant considering it's one of the basic ideas of Obama's platform.
February 21, 2008 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
I would submit that you've never spent endless hours in the drudge work of committees as a member or chair. No one is claiming that attending the prayer breakfasts is a major accomplishment, nor is anyone claiming that all her hard work is some sort of staggeringly lifetime achievement.
No matter how hard Hillary Clinton has worked in her adult life to further the rights and protect women and children, it will never, ever, be enough.
February 21, 2008 1:02 PM | Reply | Permalink
Go find Obsidian Wings' layout on both candidates' legislative record. A bit complicated to parse, but both seem to work hard.
February 21, 2008 2:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
This is an interesting quote from George Will's Op-Ed piece in today's Washington Post:
February 21, 2008 6:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Sorry Buffy,
But that is hardly interesting at all. It is an unoriginal knock against Clinton by George Will. Big deal.
It is obvious to anyone past the age of 18 that "experience"--strictly speaking--may not lead always to success. But when you have two potential employees before you, do you pick the one who was engaging in the interview but has only a high school diploma, or the quieter one with a Phd from Harvard? (extreme example there, yes, but I think {hope}you get the point)
Republicans made the very same argument about Dubya. He's inexperienced and a failure at all his business ventures...sure, but he's going to surround himself with people of gravitas!
And really, George Will? That's the authority you want to draw from? Sheesh.
February 21, 2008 7:41 AM | Reply | Permalink
I pick the one who impressed the most at our firm for being able to do the best job, and not the one who tells us that they deserve the job, so we better give it to them, or they'll fight dirty until they get it.
February 21, 2008 9:47 AM | Reply | Permalink
Honestly, I think for the most part that Hillary was a fine first lady and a fairly successful Senator. Of course I think she can be fairly criticized for her mistakes in connection with the 1993 health care proposal, and her support for the war, but I don't think it's fair to say she's been a do-nothing Senator.
On the other hand, I think that considering she had a full-time job at the Rose Law Firm, it's a stretch to use the 35 years line, and it's really a stretch when folks want to count all of those 35 years but minimize Obama's work as a community activist and in the IL legislature. It's hardly the case of a loquacious high school graduate vs. a quiet Harvard PhD--that's not just an extreme analogy, it's ludicrous.
February 21, 2008 10:11 AM | Reply | Permalink
Talk about all hat and no cattle! Take out the fluff of prayer breakfasts, traveling and building relationships, and there's very little there. Typical Clintonite bamboozlement, but I'm glad people are finally taking a look at Hillary's much vaunted experience. Oh yeah, and her "speech" to the Chinese on women's rights? Just words!
February 21, 2008 10:23 AM | Reply | Permalink
Unoriginal loki redux, yes, but it I don't think it is all obvious to many Clinton supporters that experience - particularly experience in the Senate - is not necessarily a superior qualification for the presidency. That is the primary charge against him on hillaryclinton.com.
Your example is not a great one (high school diploma versus PhD from Harvard). But let's look at education rather than experience: They both have law degrees from the top two law schools in the country. Hat tip to Hillary that Yale is #1. However Obama graduated magna cum laude from Harvard and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Clinton failed the D.C. bar exam.
Dubya averaged a C from HBS and like you said, failed at all of his business ventures. Obama was employed to teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago. That educational qualification alone should count for more than it has in the widespread criticism of Obama's candidacy.
As for my source, who cares? I'll give George Bush credit for saying or doing things I respect (if he does them).
February 21, 2008 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
When did Obama get a PHD from Harvard?
Obama was President of Harvard Law Review, elected on the 19th ballot as an "overt compromise candidate" according to a recent article in Vanity Fair.
Did you pass the D.C. bar on your first try? When Hillary Clinton took the D.C. bar exam, it was one of the most difficult exams in the country - three days of all essays on recent decisions, not the mostly multiple choice exam they have now. She also the same summer, took the Arkansas bar exam and passed. Please, let us know how you did the summer you took two bar exams.
February 21, 2008 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink
why am i not surprised that the Arkansas bar is easier to pass than the DC???
February 21, 2008 2:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
When did you take the Arkansas bar exam?
February 21, 2008 3:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree completely that Senator Clinton has an accomplished legistlative career. I fully support her continued service in the Senate.
February 21, 2008 1:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nobody said Obama had a Harvard PhD; that's a reference to loki's flawed analogy above.
A different take on the process by which Obama was elected President of the Harvard Law Review:
"The law review president's election is a fussy affair, part intellectual debate, part frat house ritual. Obama was one of 19 candidates. As the 61 editors not running for the job debated the merits of the candidates behind closed doors on a Sunday morning in late February, the hopefuls cooked them breakfast, lunch, and dinner . Every few hours, the editors winnowed the list further, until just after midnight, when only Obama and a 24-year-old Harvard graduate named David Goldberg remained contenders."
Taken from an interesting year-old article in the Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/28/at_harvard_law_a_unifying_voice/
Totally agree that the DC Bar thing is bogus. My classmates that wanted to work in DC all took the PA bar and waived into DC. Well, almost all--the one who's firm required the DC Bar failed it.
February 21, 2008 1:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
I took the Virgnia bar in February of my senior year of law school (1982 - the last year they allowed that) and I took the DC Bar that same summer - 20 essays and the multistate exam for a second time (the next year, they allowed members of other state bars to waive into DC for a $500 fee) -- and it was stress producing, but I passed both, and would not think it that incredible or extraordinary an accomplishment (especially when compared to being President of the U.S.). Her failing the bar is not a good fact. And his being on the staff or editorial board of the Harvard Law Review is in and of itself indicative of a level of academic excellence that was comparatively lacking in Clinton's law school career -- wholly apart from his election as President of the Law Review, regardless of how many ballots it took to get there. His academic career is much more accomplished than hers is, without any question.
Aside from her work in passing legislation to secure financial aid to NY after 9/11, Hillary's legisltative career has been undistinguished (although with the Dems in the minority for part of that time, and with her being in a campaign for President since 2006, her relative lack of authored legislation is not that big a shock). By contrast, Obama's first term has involved much more legislative activity - he has authored or co-authored (not sponsored, but authored) several major pieces of legislation, including the congressional ethics bill which diminished the influence of lobbyists in the Congress, and several others (links, anybody?). What I am saying is that, other than her experience in the White House, which also included her legendary mismanagement of the health care initiative, and a series of minor scandals which were conflagrated by GOP opponents, but nevertheless had a basis in reality and contributed to some of the problems Bill Clinton experienced during his presidency. So maybe she has more of a certain kind of experience than Obama does, but her experience is not all good, and it is couterbalanced by other factors -- her high negatives, the extent to which her opponents use her involvement as a rallying point for opposition (she will unite the GOP in ways Obama won't and McCain can't). All of which may bode poorly for things actually getting done if and when she is elected (which she will be if she wins the nomination -- because there is no way Grandpa McCain, the elderly and backwards looking right wing suck-up and fearmonger -- as opposed to the "McCain formerly thought to be a Maverick" who we actually liked 10 years ago, has a chance against either Hillary or Obama).
February 21, 2008 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
When Hillary Clinton took the D.C. bar exam in 1973, it was 60 essay questions over three days, with a 50% pass rate. By contrast the Virginia bar exam pass rate was over 81% with largely a multiple choice/essay format.
She could have waived in if she had been a member of good standing in a state bar for five years, or if she had taken the multi-state and passed with a 133 and so could you.
As to her experience being "Not all good" no one has "all good" experience. That's how we learn what works and doesn't work. Like Obama, Clinton has also "authored" legislation and like Obama she has also sponsored legislation. Hillary Clinton served on the board of editors for the Yale Law Journal so maybe what we have here are two very competent candidates.
February 21, 2008 3:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Bear -- Prior to 1983, you could not waive into the DC Bar -- I know that from personal experience. And it was a relatively difficult bar exam. But it still had well over a 50% pass rate, and failing it is not a great fact.
February 21, 2008 1:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hillary was doing other things besides Rose Law Firm - anti-poverty organizations, work as First Lady, etc. She also had relevant work experience before graduating from Yale - where Obama is known for his Law Review position, Hillary was also on the Law and Social Justice journal, publishing, doing research, involved in campaigns, and in campus and national politics as an undergrad, as well as tied into work the Watergate committe and Mondale labor board. Of course George Will doesn't know what the internet is either, so he can't Wiki "Hillary" to find this out.
And again, go to Obsidian Wings to get more in depth on both candidates' records.
February 21, 2008 3:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
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