Chelsea Clinton Finds Her Voice

Washington Post: Former First Daughter Evolves From Quiet Supporter To Self-Assured Campaigner

(Washingtonpost.com)  Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois has won many of the states that have been Chelsea targets, but what is known within the campaign as the "Chelsea effect" has been her ability to limit Obama's margins of victory -- such as in Vermont, where she was the only Clinton to campaign and where Obama did not exceed the 62.5 percent popular-vote threshold that would have earned him two more delegates.

Hillary Clinton has made inroads among younger voters in a few states since the first contest, in Iowa on Jan. 3, when she was trounced in part because that demographic supported Obama so strongly. She ran evenly with Obama among under-30 voters in Massachusetts and California, and she won them in Arkansas.

At one college stop, at West Chester University last month, Chelsea Clinton drew a motley assortment of noisy young Clinton supporters, older campaign workers from the area -- and a handful of students carrying signs for Sen. John McCain. Like her parents, Clinton was quick to note the detractor in the room; when the McCain supporters took their signs outside and pointed them through a window, she went out of her way to address them.

"If they want to ask questions, I'm happy to answer them as well," she said.

With similar adroitness, she has learned to address suitors (politely turning down date invitations with references to her boyfriend); to respond to offers of hugs ("I love hugs!" she says); and to deflect questions, which come more frequently now than ever, about whether she would play a role in her mother's administration, run for office herself, or potentially, if her mother loses to Obama or McCain, become the first female president.

She has a ready quip for each, saying she has no desire to move back in with her parents. "I have an apartment, a job, a dog and a boyfriend, and at some point, I'm going to go back to that life," she says.

That life includes a job with a six-figure salary at Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund in New York. Previously, she worked as a consultant at McKinsey, where colleagues praised her for keeping a relatively low profile and delving deeply into the subject matter; in many cases her work involved health-care accounts.

Her boyfriend, Marc Mezvinsky, sometimes joins her on the road now that she is gone so much. Mezvinsky, who has known Clinton since childhood, works at Goldman Sachs and is the son of two former House members, Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky of Pennsylvania, who lost her seat after supporting the 1993 Clinton tax increase, and Ed Mezvinsky of Iowa, who is in prison for fraud.

Like her mother, Clinton has a flair for wonkish details and academic-sounding words -- proposals for "incentivizing" corporations, doubling family education tax credits and introducing "green vehicular bonds" to automakers all roll off her tongue. Rarely does she duck a substantive question; after hearing her speak recently at an assisted-living home in Bensalem, a suburb of Philadelphia, several of the elderly residents said they were stunned by her command of health-care policy detail.

But the sensational questions and commentary have drawn the most attention, beginning with an MSNBC anchor's comment that Clinton is being "pimped out" by the campaign, with selected public appearances but no media interviews. Campaign officials pushed back hard, and the candidate herself wrote a letter of complaint. The network responded by suspending the anchor, David Shuster, who apologized.

Besides Clinton's answers to questions about Lewinsky and impeachment, one other recent response also generated some attention. Asked if she thought her mother would be a better president than her father, she said: "I don't take anything for granted, but hopefully with Pennsylvania's help she will be our next president. And yes, I do think she'll be a better president."

On Wednesday in Pittsburgh, her mother laughed when she was asked about Chelsea's endorsement of her over the former president, reacting with the reserve she often shows when the subject of her daughter is broached. "I think I've got two great surrogates," she said.

Research editor Alice Crites contributed to this report.

[hotdog357]

"Now if Hillary Clinton makes "mistatements" on Bosnian sniper fire due to exhaustion at 11:00, then how can she answer calls at 3:00am?" (SG) I love it! Well said!

[bluesteel121]

"Now if Hillary Clinton makes "mistatements" on Bosnian sniper fire due to exhaustion at 11:00, then how can she answer calls at 3:00am?" (SG)

[jockh]

The Clintons are tight fisted money grabbers. Despite lining their pockets with 109 MILLION, Hillary merely LOANS her campaign 5 MILLION. Why doesnt she GIVE it to her campaign instead of LOANING and put her money where her mouth is? After all, other candidates like Mitt Romney put millions of their own money into their own campaigns.

That way she would be showing that she has complete confidence in herself and her campaign and this in turn would encourage other donations.

However, she loans instead of gives to her own campaign because she knows she is going to lose so she would rather lose donors money in her futile campaign and keep all her millions nice and safe; so she can sleep in a solid gold bed with a mattress stuffed with 100 dollar bills. And solid gold pant suits for herself and Chelsea !!

[lordmi]

Looks like neither one Clinton has any shame.
This girl promotes her Dirty Family and very surprised to hear about that dirt?

How about spending millions and donate to clinton foundation for tax release?
Shame on You , Chelsea.
Your mother did not have a pride and trade it for White House suit.
What You are trading?

Maybe it is time for You to go and work AT LAST.
And use US troubled airlines .
Ar last at least ONE clinton will work.

Shameless American Disgrace.

[ajmarine1]

Talk to you later!

Posted by erasmus6 at 06:09 PM : Apr 10, 2008


Until next time then............keep safe and may life smile on you and yours.

[erasmus6]

Well girl, have you had enough or should we wait until they start throwing cold water on us and telling us to get a room?
Posted by AJMarine1

Haha, that was funny when someone said that.

I guess I should go and do something, I have been sitting here for awhile. Talk to you later!

[ajmarine1]

There are times when I have stated that I am a female but mostly I keep quiet and let people think that I am a male. I can be very BLUNT and people seem to accept it better if they think it is coming from a male. haha


Posted by erasmus6 at 05:14 PM : Apr 10, 2008


I''m sure you have alot of fun with it.


You hooked me when someone said something about pe*ing standing up and you said you were showing your superior female intellect by doing it that way when you used public restrooms...........that to me, sounded like a pretty smart cookie.


Well girl, have you had enough or should we wait until they start throwing cold water on us and telling us to get a room?

[erasmus6]

AJMarine1

There are times when I have stated that I am a female but mostly I keep quiet and let people think that I am a male. I can be very BLUNT and people seem to accept it better if they think it is coming from a male. haha

The problem with changing my name is finding one that hasn''t been taken. I tried quite a few before I used erasmus and I originally tried erasmus8 (I like the number 8) but it was taken.

I will think of some names and when I speak to you again I will run them past you.

[ajmarine1]

Yes, when I first heard the name something clicked in my brain, I liked it instantly.....just like yours.


Posted by erasmus6 at 05:14 PM : Apr 10, 2008


Like minds think alike?

A girl''s name would be alright too; it would alert people that they are talking to a female, that could be to your advantage or not depending on who you are talking to or keep Erasmus if you might want to pass as a male if you want that cover, choice is yours.

If you want a vote from me on which one you should choose, you will have to run some of the new names by me.

[erasmus6]

Posted by AJMarine1 at 04:55 PM : Apr 10, 2008

Yes, when I first heard the name something clicked in my brain, I liked it instantly.....just like yours.

I was going to change it to a girls name but maybe I will keep it!

[popstom1]

well howllow I sick Of Obama

[ajmarine1]

Posted by erasmus6 at 04:49 PM : Apr 10, 2008


I was looking at it and was wondering how it would like to be called "Erasmus"?

You have to admitt, the name has character.......You Canadians.

[erasmus6]

Good afternoon, AJMarine1

"I saw a cat the other day and thought of you."

That pleases me very much.:)

[libh8er]

P.S. I''''m sick of anyone named Bush, too.
Posted by Hober_Mallow at 04:20 PM : Apr 10, 2008

Thanks for sharing. You''ll no doubt be happy to learn that he''s not running for reelection.

[prinzowhales]

The unconstitutional FED has just had its powers broadened to take care of the other interests of private people who own it. Bear Stearns doesn''t rate that ''special'' protection...Lehman Brothers does...nothing ''free market'' about that...its just rewarding your friends from the magic never emptying money bag called the FED....We''ll create money to pay outrageous sums to Haliburton for no bid contracts...but we won''t create it to fund social security...we''ll use it for corporate bailouts...but we won''t build solar panel farms or to help people get off the grid.

Its time to take the power of money creation from the swine who have so abused it!

[hober_mallow]

I hope to heaven that Chelsea Clinton disappears as soon as possible. I am having total Clinton fatigue.
A couple of months ago, I would''ve told that I''d likely be voting for Hillary Clinton if she was to become the Democrat presidential nominee.
Now, I''m beginning to doubt that. I just don''t want to have to deal with ANY Clinton.

P.S. I''m sick of anyone named Bush, too.

[prinzowhales]

A 19th century financial writer in Britain once noted that if you asked two Englishmen whether dogs lived on Sirius, they would not be satisfied until they came down on one side of the question or the other...

In a since what this school girl thinks about anything is irrelevant. We have wars based on lies, we 9-11 lies, we have the importation of dangerous narcotics into this nation by the people and agencies that are supposed to prevent such attacks!...

We have a paper dollar--raw buying power!--created out of nothing by a gang of bankers at the FED for their own pleasure and profit.

We have de-industrialization, open borders, the most people in prisons of any nation in the world and an assault on our natural rights by a Regime headed by a man who says our Constitution is just "a God D*amned piece of paper"....Is is really time to talk to Chelsea?

[prinzowhales]

Is Chelsea, Bill, Hillary or Barack going to talk about the 5.5 tons of drugs found on a CIA plane that went down in Mexico that has been linked to renditions as well? No! And you can bet your arse that CBS is not going to ask about it.

[prinzowhales]

They don''t allow comments on Obama...they put this piece of fluff out there to talk about...God knows why...Why don''t they just put a picture of Barney the Dinosaur up there and ask us what he''s thinking?

WE have a Demopublican Regime that is allowing elements in the CIA and DEA to import tons of drugs into this county.

We have the outstanding murder of 3,000 Americans on 9-11 that still needs investigating...The Official Story is a Worldwide Joke!

We have two wars based on lies and hundreds of thousands dead and hundreds of billions squandered.

And CBS wants us to talk about Chelsea...

[ajmarine1]

erasmus6,

Good afternoon,....I saw a cat the other day and thought of you.