Hillary Clinton: From White House Kitchen to Presidential Candidate

(Baonghean) - In the context of the increasingly intense race to the White House, the only female presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, is receiving public attention, especially from her Republican opponent. Last week, a series of new storms came to her, testing the mettle of the former US Secretary of State. On the journey from First Lady, Secretary of State and now a promising candidate for the highest position in the United States, is what she has shown enough for Mrs. Hillary to step up to the podium of glory?

Turning Point

On January 17, 1993, Bill Clinton was inaugurated as President and Hillary became the first First Lady of the United States to have a postgraduate degree. This was also the time when Clinton became aware of her family's political path and began to transform.

Mrs. Hillary and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, celebrate their victory in the 1992 US presidential election. Photo: Reuters

She abandoned her maiden name, started wearing makeup, took off her thick glasses and invested in new relationships. She also spent time reading biographies of 43 first ladies in history to gain confidence when going from Little Rock to the White House. With her success in reforming education in Arkansas, Mrs. Hillary was put in charge of reforming the health care system across the United States by her husband, President Bill Clinton.

But things did not go as smoothly as the Clintons had hoped. On the night of November 8, 1994, in the small kitchen on the second floor of the White House, Mrs. Hillary stared at the television screen. The 47-year-old First Lady of the United States sat with her husband and daughter, listening to each news line announcing that the Republican Party across the country had broken through, won an overwhelming victory and would take over Congress.

Confused, anxious, sad and disappointed, Mrs. Clinton understood that her push for health care reform had failed. Combined with the troubles of the Whitewater real estate scandal, the Democratic Party suffered a heavy defeat.

1994 was a dark year for the Clintons and the Democratic Party. But from another perspective, Republican strategist Joe Brettell said, “if anyone wants to see the moment when the modern Hillary began to rise, it was 1994!”

Later, in her memoir, Barbara Bush - wife of George Bush Sr. wrote, "Hillary Rodham Clinton certainly played an important role in her husband's decision-making process. She seemed to be increasingly strong in both roles." And it seemed that all this happened in reality when on January 20, 1997, Mrs. Hillary, her husband and daughter attended the inauguration ceremony of his second term as US President.

Take on the challenge

After many years of being a strong supporter of her husband, Mrs. Clinton began to venture out and won her first achievement as a Senator representing New York State in 2000. In 2006, she was re-elected to represent New York State in the Senate for another term.

With a larger goal, on January 27, 2007, Mrs. Clinton officially announced her campaign for the US presidential election. Before reaching the position of president, Mrs. Clinton assumed the role of US Secretary of State from 2009. However, in 2013, after the hearing before Congress about the attack on the US Embassy in Libya, Mrs. Hillary officially ended her term as Secretary of State.

On January 20, 2007, Mrs. Clinton announced on the front page of her official campaign website: "Today, Hillary took her first step on the road to the White House." Photo: Reuters. Photo: Reuters

After leaving this important position, Mrs. Clinton returned to normal life and did not get involved in politics. However, in reality, this was a period of calm for her to prepare for a more difficult race, the 2016 US Presidential election. As predicted, on April 12, 2015, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton officially announced her candidacy for the US President once again.

However, many difficulties came to test the mettle of former Secretary of State and former First Lady Clinton. That was the scandal of using personal email, the controversy surrounding the family's charity fund.

She recently received a lawsuit from the families of two American diplomats killed in the attack on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya four years ago. More recently this week, there have been rumors about her health and the release of a number of reports by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) suggesting that she may have been involved in the suicide of a White House adviser while she was US Secretary of State.

Will American women's bravery be honored?

Always responding with strong statements and rebuttals, Mrs. Clinton did not disappoint her supporters with the steadfastness of a veteran politician. Most recently, Mrs. Hillary appeared full of vitality on Jimmy Kimmel Live - a late-night talk show to dispel speculations about her health.

Mrs. Clinton called this a “wacky tactic” and very meaningless; at the same time, she accused candidate Donald Trump of deliberately presenting “an alternative reality” to distract public opinion from issues that are close to voters.

Using the media and taking advantage of celebrities has been an effective strategy of Mrs. Clinton throughout her journey. Even her opponent Donald Trump commented that the media is "biased" towards Mrs. Clinton.

With a wealth of political experience and a strong support from former President Bill Clinton, Hillary also knows how to attack the weaknesses of her opponent Donald Trump, such as: flamboyance, impulsiveness and impracticality. She always emphasizes that this is a huge difference between her and the Republican candidate that voters need to remember.

Hillary Clinton today, as the sole candidate of the Democratic Party. Photo: Getty Image

Meanwhile, on the side of candidate Donald Trump, observers believe that the recent change of the entire campaign leadership shows that this candidate is looking for new "tricks" for the upcoming sprint race. But clearly, "tricks" will hardly become reality in the voters' votes.

The question now is whether Mrs. Hillary’s courage and determination can be maintained until the last minute on November 8, when the Republican candidate, billionaire Donald Trump, is not a weak opponent. Although recent polls show that the voter support rate for Mrs. Clinton is far ahead of candidate Trump; but that does not mean anything.

There are still more than 2 months to go and many voters are still undecided. During this time, Mrs. Clinton must affirm to the public that, if elected, she will not be the “third term” of President Barack Obama. Everything will be ahead. And the public is also waiting for a new historical moment for America this coming November.

Phuong Hoa