Hillary Clinton is a prominent politician and first lady of the United States. This is the only woman who was elected to the post of US Secretary of State. Many consider her too ambitious, but it was her prudence, sharp mind and strong convictions that helped her become one of the most visible political figures in the whole world.

Hillary Clinton. Biography: childhood

Hillary Clinton was born on 10/26/1947 in Chicago. Her father had his own small business, and her mother was engaged in housekeeping.

Hillary Clinton, whose biography is full of many political events She has shown a strong personality since childhood. Even then, she was purposeful, had an unbending will. The character of the leader Hillary inherited from her father. In her studies, she was very diligent, and became the favorite of teachers. Considered the best in the class. Hillary began to get involved in sports since childhood. She enjoyed swimming and basketball the most. She repeatedly participated in competitions, in which she often won first places.

Studies

Hillary Graduated high school in 1965. After that, she entered Wellesley College. She graduated in 1969 and immediately continued her studies at Yale University. Hillary Clinton led a small student organization in her youth and became interested in politics. In 1973, she received a doctorate in law and, after graduation, got a job at the Children's Defense Fund.

But legal activity did not become her main vocation. While still a student, Hillary met Bill Clinton, who later became her husband. After graduation, they moved to Arkansas together. There, Hillary taught law at the university for some time. But later she devoted herself entirely to politics.

Political career

In 1972, she took part in George McGovern, who ran for president. In 1974, she worked on the legal committee.

After the wedding, since 1975, Hillary Clinton, whose biography is closely connected with politics, has been actively engaged in this activity. She did her best to promote her husband's career, conducted a political campaign for him. First, with her help, he became the Attorney General, then the Governor. Later, she helped her husband become president, but Hillary did not abandon her legal activities at all. In 1978, she became a board member of the Legal Services Corporation. She worked there until 1981. In 1988, she was considered one of the best lawyers in the country.

After the husband of Hillary Clinton, whose photo is in this article, became the President of the United States, she automatically accepted the status of First Lady. She headed the health committee, which she worked on for almost a year. But because of the criticism of the Republicans, she had to leave this type of activity and step down as head of the committee.

Hillary is an active person, and immediately after her resignation from her previous post, she began to protect the interests of women and children. She went on to lead the large Wal-Mart business. As a result, her income greatly exceeded that of her husband, and she became financially independent.

In 2000, Hillary was elected Senator of New York and for 7 years was one of the candidates for the US President. But over time, the attitude of citizens towards her and her husband changed a lot. They were suspected of nepotism (something akin to our nepotism), and Hillary had to abandon the race for the presidency. In the elections, she supported the candidacy of Barack Obama.

He, in turn, did not forget Clinton's help, and, becoming President of the United States, offered her the position of Secretary of State, to which she was elected in 2009. Hillary Clinton, whose biography contains unique information, became the first woman in the history of America who was able to get into the State Department of the country. She is considered a "hawk" in military policy. This was especially noticeable in H. Clinton's attitude towards Afghanistan and Iraq.

Hillary has always been in favor of restoring good relations with Russia. Although many politicians do not support her in this matter. In 2013, Hillary succeeded her as Secretary of State and continued her work to protect the interests of women and children.

This year, she again decided to compete for the presidency. And she will participate in the 2016 elections. According to polls, citizens have begun to treat her with the same respect again. To date, Hillary Clinton is a presidential candidate and holds a leading position among the rest of the participants.

Personal life

At first glance, the personal life of the family seems just exemplary. But there were also unpleasant and offensive moments in it. In 1975, she met her husband, Bill Clinton. Their marriage continues to this day. Still, Hillary could not avoid her husband's infidelity. She had to endure far from the most pleasant time when their personal lives were brought up for public discussion. However, the marriage survived, and today she and Bill are still together.

Hillary had only one child - daughter Chelsea. She graduated from Stanford University, and after that she began to work in charitable foundation father. Chelsea married Mark Mezvinsky in 2010. And last year, H. Clinton finally became a grandmother. Chelsea had a daughter named Charlotte.

Hillary Clinton scandals

Not only social activities, but also the personal life of this lady was accompanied by many high-profile scandals. There were many rumors around the name of Hillary Clinton. The United States still remembers her husband's relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In 1998, this was the most talked about morality scandal. But Hillary has a subtle mind, and her desire not to give up the high positions she has achieved in life pushed her to support her husband instead of a divorce. As a result, she was able to turn a shameful love affair into a conspiracy against the President of the United States.

One of the high-profile political scandals concerned her personal email. mail used for official correspondence, which she led while still at the head of the US State Department. This is a crime because it undermines the security of the country. Hillary's enemies insisted on verification, believing that she declassified secret classified information in correspondence. However, these rumors were not confirmed upon verification. Although some of the letters still received the stamp of secrecy.

The financial situation of the Clintons

As mentioned above, Hillary has long been financially independent from her husband. Now the income of the Clintons is more than 25 million US dollars. This money is earned for public speaking. In addition, she wrote and published the book Difficult Decisions. The publication gained great popularity, and the fee for it amounted to 5 million US dollars.

Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton (Eng. Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton; b. October 26, 1947, Chicago) - American politician, US Senator from New York (2001-2009). Member Democratic Party USA. First Lady of the United States from 1993-2001 during the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton.

Hillary Rodham Clinton was born Hillary Diane Rodham on October 26, 1947 in Chicago. She graduated from high school in Park Ridge, Illinois in 1965. At Wellesley College, in parallel with her studies, she was actively involved in social activities. In 1969, she received a bachelor's degree and entered the Yale Law School.

She met her future husband, Bill Clinton, at university. In 1972, she took part in the election campaign of Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern. In 1973 she received her doctorate in law.

She has worked for the Children's Defense Fund and for the House Judiciary Committee. Then she moved to Arkansas, where Bill Clinton began his political career. They got married in 1975. Hillary has taught at the University of Arkansas School of Law since 1975 and has been with the Rose Law Firm since 1976.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter appointed Hillary to the board of the Legal Services Corporation. That same year, Bill Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas. In 1980, the Clintons had a daughter, Chelsea.

As the first lady of the state for twelve years (1979-1981 and 1983-1993), Clinton was actively involved in public activities, in particular in such areas as education, health care and advocacy for children's rights.

Having become the first lady of the United States after Clinton's victory in the 1992 presidential election, Hillary, at the request of her husband, in 1993 headed the task force on health care reform.

The reform plans and the very appointment of Clinton were subjected to considerable criticism from Republicans and representatives of the medical industry, and a year later, Hillary was forced to leave her post. In the future, the focus of her attention remained the problems of women and children, including in developing countries.

In 1994, the first lady was one of the main defendants in the Whitewater case, which, with the participation of the Clintons, conducted real estate transactions in Arkansas in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1998, a major scandal erupted around Bill Clinton's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky, which almost ended in the president's impeachment.

Hillary supported her husband and did not want to part with him - as critics believe, pursuing her own political goals.

In 2000, Clinton ran as a Democratic candidate for the New York State Senate. She was originally to be opposed by New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. When he dropped out due to illness, Clinton defeated Republican Rick Lazio in the November 7, 2000 election.

As observers have noted, Clinton's political program was frowned upon by both Republicans and some Democrats (particularly because of her support for President George W. Bush and his administration's plans to use military force against Iraq). Nevertheless, Hillary Clinton was considered one of the most promising contenders to participate in the 2008 presidential election as a Democratic candidate.

On November 7, 2006, Clinton was re-elected to the Senate, defeating Republican John Spencer. The success of the former first lady was seen by observers as new milestone on the way to the presidential elections. Clinton officially announced her intention to participate in the presidential race on January 20, 2007.

Her main rival for the Democratic presidential nomination was Senator Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton is considered by many to be the most powerful White House in the history of the United States. She is an ambitious woman, well aware of her competence and her importance. Hillary's friends emphasize her ambition and her energetic determination: "She knows what she wants and how to get it."

She is considered more intelligent, calm and prudent in her choice of words compared to her husband. Those who know her better appreciate her wit and sense of humor. She can imitate other people amazingly. Hillary Clinton is also financially independent.

In 1990, her annual income was $ 190,000, in 1993 - already $ 250,000, her husband's governor's income was $ 35,000 a year. As the president's wife, she served as a board member of Wal-Mart from 1986-1992. She manages the money in the family. She owns shares in a number of Wal-Mart stores, the Liz Cliborn confectionery company, and other businesses.

In 2000, Clinton was elected as a senator in the state of New York. Having confidently won reelection to the Senate in November 2006, Hillary Clinton has long been considered one of the favorites of the 2008 presidential campaign.

After Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, he invited Hillary Clinton to take the post of US Secretary of State. On November 21, Hillary Clinton agreed to take the post, which Barack Obama officially announced on December 1.

On December 10, Congress passed a special bill to cut the Secretary of State's pay so that (under the so-called Senator Saxby Rule) an incumbent senator could become secretary of state. The law was signed into law by George W. Bush on December 19. Simultaneously, Senator Hillary Clinton was stripped of all pay increases effective January 1, 2007.

Hearings on the candidacy of Hillary Clinton for the post of Secretary of State began in the Senate, in the Committee on international relations January 13, 2009. Two days later, the committee approved her candidacy (by a majority of 16 to 1).

After the inauguration of Barack Obama on January 20, the Senate postponed a decision on the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. The decision was taken by the full Senate on January 21 and approved by a majority of 94 votes to 2. On the same day, Hillary Clinton took the oath and resigned as a senator from the state of New York. The new Secretary of State arrived at the State Department on January 22.

On the first day of Hillary Clinton's work on January 22, 2009, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden visited the State Department, in whose presence the Secretary of State announced the appointment of new special envoys. Former Democratic Senator George Mitchell has been appointed special envoy for peace in the Middle East, while Richard Holbrook, a former US representative to the UN in the Bill Clinton administration, has been appointed ambassador to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Archival photos of a young Clinton and her wife shed light on the life of two politicians at the beginning of their careers.

Before becoming President and First Lady of the United States, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton were two hopeless romantics devoted to the principles of liberalism.

Bill Clinton, 18, poses for a photo celebrating his graduation from Hot Springs High School in Hot Springs, Arkansas.

Hippie Bill and Hillary, as law students, on the Yale campus. The couple spent their first date at an art museum. After viewing an exhibition dedicated to Mark Rothko, they sat next to the Henry Moore sculpture, where Bill laid his head on her shoulder for the first time.

Hillary said that as soon as they exchanged glances, a strong attraction formed between them. Indeed, in the photo the couple looks in love. Bill looked like a charming young man, and the future Mrs. Clinton in her youth looks like an ordinary girl in the photo.

On that fateful day of dating in the library, Hillary took the first step by telling Bill, “If you want to keep looking at me, then I will look at you back, so I think we better get to know each other. I'm Hillary."

On October 11, 1975, they got married. Throughout their relationship, Bill and Hillary have maintained that their intellectual infatuation with each other is what keeps them together.

Hillary actively supported her future husband during the election campaign in Arkansas. Perhaps thanks to the toughness of his wife, Clinton got his way by taking the post of governor.

Chelsea Clinton, the couple's only child, was born during her father's first term as Governor of Arkansas. She was named after the Chelsea area in London, where Bill and Hillary spent their holidays in 1978.

Hillary says that when he heard a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" in 1969, Bill said, "If we ever have a daughter, her name should be Chelsea."

Hillary once admitted that Bill was the first person who was not afraid of her strict mind, assertiveness and rigidity. Perhaps Hillary Clinton in her youth in the photo looked like a simple girl, but her outstanding intellectual abilities scared away many men.

Even after things didn't go well for the president, Hillary stood up for her husband and said, "He's still the most interesting, intelligent, and full of life person I've ever met."

One of the most influential women politicians Hillary Clinton was born in Chicago. Hillary Clinton's family was the simplest: her father was engaged in the supply of fabric, and her mother was a housewife who raised three children - in addition to her daughter, sons Hugh and Tony grew up in the family. Hillary Clinton's maiden name is Rodham.

While studying at school, the girl was involved in many clubs: she was interested in the social and religious life of the city. After leaving school, as a finalist in the program for gifted children, she chose to study at Wellesley College and began to study liberal arts and political courses there. Growing Hillary stood up for conservative beliefs. She was elected president of the Wellesley Young Republicans, and later to the post of head of the State College Association.

In 1973, the girl becomes a bachelor in political science and enters the law school, which belonged to Yale University. It is here that Hillary meets Bill Clinton, who later married her. In 1973, Hilary received a doctorate in law, and then studied the course of pediatric medicine. She is invited to work at the Children's Defense Fund as a lawyer.

In 1975, Hillary married Bill, and the couple moved to Arkansas: Bill planned to build a political career. He is running for and holding the post of state attorney general. Hillary is a faculty member at the University of Arkansas teaching law students. Her outstanding analytical skills did not go unnoticed, and Hillary Clinton is invited to the board of the Legal Services Corporation. Occupying this post, over the years she increases the fund's cash reserve by 210 million dollars. In 1979, Hillary Clinton's husband becomes the governor of the state, and she becomes the first lady. Hillary actively addresses the shortcomings in the education sector, lobbies for the interests of women lawyers, denouncing the problem of gender inequality.

In 1992, Hillary Clinton's husband, thanks to the support of supporters, takes the post of 42nd President of the United States. Then Hilary planned her husband's election campaign, was engaged in its analytics and even received the comic nickname "co-president". Soon, a scandal erupted against the Clintons in the case of financial fraud at the Whiwater Corporation. The court did not prove their guilt, but then a new scandal followed - about the president's love affair with the young Monica Lewinsky. Hillary sided with her husband, saying in the press that it was all a conspiracy. However, Bill left the presidency. And Hillary, on the contrary, showed herself from an unexpected and strong side: she ran for the post of New York senator and won the election. In 2007, Hillary Clinton enjoyed huge voter support and wanted to become the new US president, but the victory went to Barack Obama. He offered Hillary the post of US Secretary of State, and she took it from January 2009. Hillary wrote about her work in this post in books, in one of which she named one of the main goals achieved - the defeat of the USSR and the collapse of communism. In March 2013, Hillary left the post of Secretary of State, and in 2015 she announced her candidacy from the Democratic Party for the 2016 Presidential election. Now she is one of the leaders of the election race.

Hillary Clinton's personal life

As a young student, Hillary met her future husband, Bill. A passion for law and politics led them to the Yale University Library, where young people first saw each other. Serious relationship led to marriage. In 1980, the couple had a daughter, Chelsea Victoria. When there was a sensational scandal with her husband's confirmed infidelity, Hillary saved her family and did not divorce Bill. In 2014, Hillary became a grandmother - her daughter Charlotte was born.

In fact, she was in the mood to talk more about politics. But when a Politiken correspondent met her in Amsterdam, we were interested in something else: how you manage to force yourself to get out of bed in the morning when the dream of your life is shattered in the face of the whole world. How do you convince yourself that what little you can achieve now is also worth a lot? Hillary Clinton's book What Happened? ("What Happened?") has just been translated into Danish. We sat down with her author to discuss why she lost to Donald Trump, why so many Americans hate her, and what a dilemma she says confronts every woman with ambition. Yes, and she also loves the Danish television series "Government" ("Borgen")

Finally this day has come. After years preparation, humiliation and failure. For a whole decade, she stood at the head of the unofficial line of women contenders for the most powerful office in the world. The triumph was delayed eight years after Obama's victory, but the moment is near when the way seems to be open. Here is the day when Americans will elect a woman president for the first time, the proverbial glass ceiling will be broken, and Hillary Clinton will secure her place in history.

Hillary Diana Rodham Clinton

Born October 26, 1947 in Chicago. His father is a textile merchant and a staunch conservative. Despite this, the parents believed that their daughter should succeed.

In her youth, Hillary supported the Republicans, but defected to the Democrats in 1968 under the influence of presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy, who was against the Vietnam War.

Hillary Clinton has a political science degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and a law degree from Yale University, where she met Bill Clinton in 1971. Four years later they got married, after which their daughter Chelsea was born.

While Clinton had a successful career as a lawyer, Bill Clinton served twice as Governor of Arkansas (1979-1981 and 1983-1992).

Clinton served as first lady from 1993 to 2001.

From 2001 to 2009 - Senator from the State of New York.

In 2008, she lost to Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.

From 2009 to 2013 - US Secretary of State

It seemed that even this moneybag and reality TV star with extensive media support could not interfere with her triumph. Yes, and Hillary herself did not doubt her victory at all, having arrived with her husband on the evening of November 8, 2016 at the penthouse of the Peninsula Hotel in New York, in order to observe with friends and associates how the results from different states gradually add up to an unconditional victory.

“It never crossed my mind that we could lose,” Hillary says.

Here she is sitting in front of me in the middle of a large conference room in an Amsterdam hotel at a small square table with a white tablecloth. She came to our continent to give lectures, and I have only 20 minutes at my disposal. Obviously, we will talk more about politics than about emotions. A candle flame flickers between us. Nearby is a vase with tulips, and around us here and there are the shadows of guards and bodyguards - they are silently watching us.

“According to all our data, and to all available information, the victory was in our pocket,” she explains.

However, disturbing reports began to arrive from North Carolina, and Bill Clinton nervously paced the room, chewing on an unlit cigar. Hillary, on the other hand, reassured herself that it was not at all necessary to win all the states, so she decided to take a nap - and let the elections go on as usual.

While she slept, things took an unexpected turn. The world seemed to pass her by. When she woke up, they were still waiting for results from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It seems that nothing has been decided. But Michigan turned red (the color of the Republicans - approx.transl.). And when Pennsylvania went to Trump at 1:35, it was all over.

According to Hillary Clinton, it became difficult for her to breathe, as if all the oxygen was pumped out of the room.

“I was in real shock. It was very painful".

People gathered around the buffet table - family, friends and old colleagues.

“And they were all as discouraged as I was.”

How to say "I'm sorry, I lost" and "Where the hell have you been?" at the same time. Hillary Clinton responded with a 478-page book she co-authored with two speechwriters. This book is filled with personal, blood-soaked experiences - from grief and rage to feelings of guilt and outright bewilderment.

The other day the book "What happened?" published in Danish. And the account of Hillary Clinton's defeat from her own lips came out much more unsmoothed, angry and straightforward than her previous autobiographies, respecting the limits of decency. But, in addition, this is a sincere attempt to figure out what really happened, because, as she herself writes: “It still seems incredible to me.”

Politiken: They say Americans don't like losers. Why did you decide to write a book anyway?

Hillary Clinton: On the one hand, to make amends with myself. But I also wanted to draw attention to many issues that continue to be relevant. After all, other forces were involved in our defeat, which I could not influence. We have only recently begun to think about them. Now our intelligence says that Russia is constantly interfering in our elections, and we have new elections in November. We did not take into account the big prospect, but a perfect storm was approaching, staged according to the laws of a reality show. We need to keep talking about it, and that's what I'm going to do. If no one else, then I will do it.

strange moment

Hillary Clinton began her campaign evening by discussing her future victory speech with speechwriters. They decided how to bring the nation together and how to reach out to those who voted for the loser. That is for Donald Trump.

At the end of the evening, she took the time to open thick folders with a transition plan and the first issues she would deal with as president. Here is an ambitious program of new infrastructure that will create new jobs. Is everything ready. When the victory is officially announced, she will take to the luxurious stage of the glass Javits Center in Manhattan, where the floor is made in the form of a map of the United States. That's where she'll be standing, in the middle of Texas, in a white suit, the first woman to become president of the United States. White color as a sign of the importance of the historical moment. She and Bill even bought a house next door in the suburbs of New York, so that guests and servants would be more comfortable.

But when she woke up after a short sleep, the world changed irrevocably.

“Questions rained down one after another,” says Hillary, “What happened? How could we miss this? What the hell is going on?"

The White House said that Obama fears that the result will be controversial, and that a long trial will break out.

"You know, I had to talk to Trump." A smile crosses his face. "I still have a lot of questions, but the TV channels have already declared him the winner."

We sit on opposite sides of the white tablecloth and are silent. According to Hillary, it was the strangest moment in her entire life. Donald Trump bonfired her "corrupt Hillary" for months. During a televised debate, he promised to put her behind bars. And at rallies he conducted a crowd chanting: “Jail her!”. And then all of a sudden these antics became decent. And at the same time, writes Clinton, "there was a terribly mundane feeling, like calling your neighbor and saying you couldn't come to his barbecue."

The servants for the failed celebration were sent home. And while Bill sat and watched Trump's jubilation on television, Hillary went off to prepare tomorrow's address. She asked her team to prepare a speech of conciliation. Little by little people dispersed. In the end, she and Bill were left alone. They lay down on the bed and he took her hand.

“I just lay there and stared up at the ceiling until it was time for the speech,” Hillary writes.

Blame others

The fact that this world is sometimes ridiculous and more like someone else's fiction than the well-trained choreography that we consider reality, I had to remember in my modest hotel room in Amsterdam, where I saw a CNN report about how the President of the United States declared a world trade war.

An elderly, slightly overweight gentleman with orange hair and sharp gestures on the flat screen looked more like a nightmare than a character from real politics. This is more of an eccentric Batman movie villain than a typical member of the political elite.

And as I walk a few hundred meters to the luxurious Krasnapolsky Hotel, where I will spend 20 minutes alone with Hillary Clinton, I feel like something has changed somewhere. The woman who got more votes than any white man gave her time to me, a small newspaper journalist from a tiny country. It simply does not fit into the boundaries of what we used to call reality.

When "What happened?" hit stores in the fall, some reviewers found the book to be smart and witty, and that Hillary was sharp-tongued and didn't spare anyone, not even herself. Others seemed to be reading a completely different book. “An ill-conceived text that speaks most eloquently about the reasons for the defeat,” said The Guardian (The Guardian), calling the book “a pathological study of a failed campaign.” According to The Guardian, the masses didn't follow Hillary because her cold calculation failed when she mistakenly assumed that American politics still revolved around political agendas. But Trump perfectly understood that now this is nothing more than a continuation of show business.

According to the New Yorker, Hillary lost because she "couldn't find the right language, topics of conversation, or even facial expressions to convince enough American proletarians that she was their real hero," not a caricature rich man." And while reading, you notice how she tries to put herself in a favorable light in the face of history - after all, in this way she creates her legacy.

As she herself repeatedly emphasizes, the responsibility for the defeat lies with her alone. But at the same time, he does not hesitate to shift part of the blame onto others.

Bernie Sanders for fueling the Trump campaign with her accusations that she is a creature of Wall Street. On the Russians - for throwing fake news. Trump for turning the presidential race into a clan war. Former FBI Director James Comie for promising to reopen her work email case eleven days before the election, which, in her opinion, cost her the win.

And, of course, the media. In her words, they "led to the victory of the most inexperienced, most ignorant and most incompetent president in the history of our country, making a gaffe I made using my personal mail as Secretary of State into a key campaign topic."

What does Hillary Clinton know that we would also like to know? In other words, what to ask her? What is happening in the White House, we see for ourselves. And how the Democrats quickly recover after her defeat is already a task for the new growth.

It is already too late to complain about the fact that it did not work out to become the head of the world's greatest superpower, no matter how much one would like to. On the other hand, this defeat stunned the whole world. And we started to notice its consequences only recently. Then maybe this is what it feels like when you lose so that the whole world collapses? And how do you manage to get out of bed in the morning and convince yourself that what little you can achieve now is also worth a lot?

"Who are you really?"

In a bright conference room, a middle-aged journalist from a Dutch newspaper insistently continues the small talk about submarines while I reread my questions for the umpteenth time. Suddenly there is movement in the corridor, the Dutchman is asked to leave, they nod to me, and in a second she appears on the carpet, a radiant blonde in a golden yellow kimono. She smiles broadly, and everything but defeat is written on her face.

"Hello, Niels. Nice to meet you. I kept hoping I could make it to Copenhagen,” she says as we shake hands. “I love your country.”

That's where we started. She's here and ready to chat. And although even here, in a corner of the old world, she continues to work on her image, she still seems more sensitive, lively and real than I imagined - she seems to be improvising. In just a few sentences, her voice can jump from a joyful chirp when it comes to the personal, to a somber half-whisper when it comes to politics and global issues.

Like many, I imagined Hillary Clinton as a person whose image is choreographed, and whose real face one can only guess when she, like a sunny blonde or rather an elderly teletubby dressed in primary colors, appears in the stands around the world, winking merrily and waving his hand to seemingly random people in the crowd.

Apparently, none of this is new to her. She herself admits in her book What Happened? that it is strange for her to hear the questions “who are you really?” and “why do you want to be president?”. It is understood that something bad must be behind this - ambition, vanity, cynicism. It seems strange and widespread to her that she and Bill have, in her own words, "some special arrangements." After which she admits that they, too, are ashamed, “but this is what we call marriage,” she writes.

With the fact that millions of people can not stand her, she reconciled. “I think part of that is because I was the first female presidential candidate. I don't think my followers will have to endure the same. Although we'll see, - she answers my question about the reasons for such a massive dislike. “I was the first woman of the Baby Boomer generation and a working mother to become First Lady. I think people thought: uh, no, something does not pull her to just the wife of the president, rather, to part of his headquarters. Hence their anger."

And yet it is Hillary Clinton that most Americans consider a woman worthy of emulation, according to a Gallup poll. “That's what's weird. When I do something, people respect me and praise my work. But when I look for a new job, everything changes. So it was when I first was a senator, and then became secretary of state. And when I ask people for support, it always causes conflicting feelings, as it always happens with women who have achieved power.”

- Why is this happening?

“It seems to me that people think that there is something wrong with women who want to become president. Like, what normal woman would want that? And others will say: Yes, I don’t know any such. Here my wife does not want, the daughter does not want. And neither do my subordinates. So something is wrong here.

Perhaps all this hype, all the intrigues that were woven around her during the election campaign, drove a wedge between her and the voters.

“Various fables were chatted about me, we considered them ordinary nonsense, but, as it turned out, later, it was because of them that many put a tick in front of a different surname. They told me that I was seriously ill and on my deathbed,” Clinton laughs. - Like I'm the leader of a gang of pedophiles that keeps children in the basement of a pizzeria. And other wildness, which was immediately picked up by the Russians, Trump and the right-wing media. Some thought: maybe she really is dying, but she is fooling us.”

Yoga, white wine and anger

The day after the election in New York was cold and rainy. As she drove through the crowd of her supporters, many wept, others held up their fists in solidarity. Hillary Clinton herself felt as if she had committed a betrayal. “In a sense, it was,” she writes. And he adds - I carried my fatigue like armor. After a speech in which she admitted defeat, she and Bill drove to their old house in suburban New York. Only in the car did she allow herself to smile. “The only thing I wanted was to go home, change into home clothes and never pick up the phone again,” recalls Hillary. Then it was time for yoga pants and a fleece shirt. For the next few weeks. They were added relaxing breathing exercises, yoga and generous portions of white wine. But at times, Clinton admits, he felt like screaming into his pillow.

She watched TV shows that her husband recorded for her. Prayed to God. I was mentally transported on vacation to the “Neapolitan novels” of Elena Ferrante (Elena Ferrante), swallowed packs of detective stories and texts by Henry Nouwen (Henri Nouwen) about spirituality and the fight against depression. And she cried when actress Kate McKinnon, dressed like Hillary, sat down at the piano and sang the song “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen (Leonard Сohen) on one of the TV shows - “Though I did only what I could // And I walked the path of mistakes, trials / But I did not lie, I did not become a jester in a plague feast.

She almost maniacally dusted all the closets and went on long walks with Bill, but still, every time she heard the news, the same question rolled over, unstoppable, like tears - how could this happen?

For several days, it was simply impossible to think about anything else, she admits.

And there was also anger. She found it difficult to contain herself when Trump began hiring the same Wall Street bankers he had recently accused her of colluding with. And even more difficult when people who didn't vote came to apologize. “How could you?” Clinton muses in the book. “You neglected your civic duty at the most inopportune moment for this!”

“It was just awful! she exclaims in response to my question about the first weeks after the election. “I warned our country about the danger posed by Trump. I saw clearly that he was a serious threat to our democracy and its institutions.” She catches my eye: “I was hoping I was wrong, Niels, you understand?”.

For Americans, it works flawlessly. Hearing their name, any of them seem to take off half a centimeter above the chair, filled with importance and self-confidence.

“I hoped,” she chooses words, “that no matter how he behaved before and no matter what he said during the election campaign ... he would feel the duty and responsibility of his post and would behave ... appropriately. But the weeks went by and nothing happened.”

I ask if she has anything to blame herself for.

“For various particulars,” she replies quickly. “For not explaining our agenda clearly enough to people.” I suppose this must mean: failed to reverse her image as a protege of the system in the eyes of a disillusioned working class. “And,” she adds, “for not handling Trump during the televised debate.”

Is that when he went straight for you?

- Yes. He just followed me around the stage. I immediately figured out what he was trying to achieve, and decided to simply ignore him. Now I'm not sure that I did the right thing, because he turned the televised debate into a reality show.

"I thought people wanted the president to be modern man Someone you can rely on, who would act like an adult: did not lose his temper and did not behave like a child. I constantly scroll through these moments in my head and, I think, now I would try to do things differently. ”

“I had a world-class team, they helped Obama become president twice and were real political strategists. We planned a modern campaign, a kind of "Obama 2.0". And we succeeded. But Trump and his allies changed the script, and the campaign turned into a TV show. In my camp, unfortunately, they were not ready for this.

“During my meeting with Putin, he reminded me of the type of men who sit down in the subway with their legs wide apart, getting in the way of others. They seem to say: “I will take as much space as I see fit” and “I have no respect for you and will behave as if I am sitting at home in a dressing gown.” We call this "manspreading".<…>Putin does not respect women and despises anyone who contradicts him, so I am a double problem for him.”

Hillary Clinton on Vladimir Putin

“We saw that the Russians were up to something. But they did not understand their intention. We understand a lot just now. And then we couldn’t understand where all this dirt on me comes from, ”she says, referring to subsequent reports of a whole cyberarmy of bloggers and fake social media profiles that put Clinton in a bad light.

I ask which of her actions she would be most willing to "react."

“Well, I would never use personal mail as the head of the State Department,” she laughs and immediately adds, “despite the fact that it is completely legal, my predecessor and my successor did it.”

Alpha male advantage

In the book there was a place for other claims to himself. For the fact that, unlike Bernie Sanders, she did not make grandiose promises, simply because their fulfillment could take many years, although voters would certainly be seduced by this. During her campaign, Clinton seriously considered offering Americans a guaranteed minimum income, a small, fixed income for everyone ( like the one introduced in Finland in 2017 for the sake of experiment - approx.transl.), however, abandoned this idea, after weighing the pros and cons.

Now she thinks she should take the risk.

Clinton writes that her worst fears about her own “flaws” as a presidential candidate have come true.

“Some of them are congenital,” she explains in response to my question. “I'm a woman and I can't change that. And in our country there are many people who will never dare to support a woman in such a post. This was what all our research was saying, but it seemed to me that I could still break through thanks to my experience.

Barack Obama's mother was very young, and his father returned to Kenya, so the boy was raised by his grandparents. He grew up, became a fighter for civil rights and professor of law. An excellent biography to start a political career. Bill Clinton's father died before he was born. The family lived for years on a farm with no running water and an outdoor latrine. In addition, Bill had to appease his stepfather every now and then, who spread his hands on his mother. And yet he became the first in their family to graduate from the university. Hillary Clinton, by her own admission, cannot boast of such a dramatic biography. She grew up in an ordinary white middle-class family in suburban Chicago and had a happy childhood. In retrospect, she only regrets that she did not emphasize enough that she belongs to a generation of pioneer women who changed the world.

When she competed with Obama, the first black presidential candidate, she did not accentuate her gender. But this time it was different, she explains.

“Perhaps I should have conveyed this idea in a different way, more effectively. I dont know. But I'm sure before next woman the same dilemma will arise in my place.”

Opinion polls showed that many Republicans and Republicans were opposed to a woman president. Even in the Democratic camp, skepticism reigned. In addition, there was "the inevitable barrier of derogatory sexist comments."

— What did it mean?

- Well, for example, they say that women have too shrill voices. Although I have known quite a few men who literally scream their lungs out. In any case, this criticism does not apply to them. It is addressed not only to me personally, but to any woman who dares to stick her head out and say: "So, I'm going to become a governor or president." There are many sexist misconceptions that many, I'm sure, don't even notice.

When her husband lost the gubernatorial election in Arcasas in 1980, it was partly because she ran under her maiden name, Rodham. When Bill decided to run for the presidency 12 years later, she added his last name to hers, but then she got it for pursuing a career as a lawyer. And when she replied that she could “go home and bake cakes and have tea parties,” she was seen as a self-righteous careerist who looks down on American housewives.

When Hillary Clinton read a "deep analysis" of her televised debates with Trump after the election, she was surprised. “After the elections, I studied everything that was written about them,” she smiles. “And so I read: maybe she really looked more convincing and caught him more than once, but you still couldn’t take your eyes off Trump.”

She looks into my eyes.

“He behaves like an alpha male. He wants to be seen as such. And what's more, deep down in our DNA, we also believe that the president should be like that. I've broken many barriers, but this last one was too much for me. But I think I managed to clear the space for debate, and next time people will be more attentive.”

For a moment we sit in silence. Suddenly she says:

“But I love the television series“ The Government ” ("Borgen", Danish series about a female prime minister - approx. transl.) I just love him."

Here she embarks on a detailed analysis of the plot, acting and, last but not least, the trials that befell the main character.

“Balancing family and work is just one of the tasks that fall on the shoulders of women,” says Hillary, adding that if work is fraught with power, then dilemmas cannot be avoided.

“On the one hand, no one wants to become a stranger to himself. On the other hand, you must be able to remain yourself in a situation where others consider you a leader. And it's not easy."

Too many opponents

Hillary Clinton thought for a long time about whether to participate in Trump's inauguration - she was afraid that she would be booed and greeted with shouts of "Jail her!". She agreed when she learned that Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush would be there. Little by little, she began to think about how much it hurt past losers when they got into the same situation.

AP Photo, Andrew Harnik Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton

She calls Trump's inaugural speech "a roar from the abyss of white nationalism."

“It’s dark and dangerous and disgusting,” she says. “I kept thinking: wow, we really have hard times ahead - and my fears were justified.”

"Niels!" - one of the shadows, sitting a few tables away from me, tactfully makes it clear that time is coming to an end.

“Two more minutes,” I ask, and turn the conversation to the last questions.

- I have always been interested in what people do after they have been president ...

- And you were the first in line for so long, and suddenly it all ended, and you never became president. How do you adjust to a new life?

— I spent a lot of time walking in the woods with friends to look into my future. I really was sure that I would become president and do so much for our country. However, I didn't succeed. But I'm not used to giving up. So I started looking for new ways to contribute.

She looks up.

“This is not one comprehensive work, but many different interesting challenges. I support new political organizations and young candidates challenging Trump's manners and Republican order to restore the balance of democratic power."

What is your goal in life now?

— Fortunately, I have a lot of things that I have been doing for many years. This includes health insurance and all sorts of conflicts in our society. And I also help the struggling side to rise.

“I do what I can to protect and protect our democracy,” she says, apparently unaware that her “defend and protect” unwittingly quoted the presidential oath, which she never had to take. (“… to the best of my ability, I will uphold, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States…” — translator’s note).

- And yet, how do you answer the question "what happened"?

“It happened that there were too many opponents in front of me. A Trump campaign unlike anything we've dealt with before. Sexism. Russians who constantly influenced the outcome of the elections. Information has been used as a weapon, and we are only now beginning to understand the danger it poses to democracies around the world. I couldn't get over it, and I'm really, really sorry," she replies.

And he adds with a half smile:

"Because I think I would make a good president."