Hall of Fame Induction.
Hillary was recently inducted into the Westchester County Women's Hall of Fame, where she spoke in front of 450 people. She was presented with an award by a county executive, who said that Hillary "has had so many firsts that we are all looking for her next first. And I'm not talking about the first woman on Mars."
In her acceptance speech, Sen. Clinton noted a connection between homeland security and the success of women's rights movements around the world. She remarked that, during her travels to Iraq and Afghanistan, these women were "hoping America's women will continue to support them as they try to tear down their barriers and make a better life for themselves and their children." She went on to say that there is a direct relationship "between safety and security right here in Westchester and the lives and possibilities for women around the globe." To wit: "Where women are given a chance to go to school, to have access to health care, to have some control over their own identity, to go into business, to have access to credit, those societies are less likely to be fomenting and nurturing terrorism because they are respecting the opportunities and lives of all of their people," and "Where women are given a chance to have a stake in their society, where they are truly part of a democracy, they will help influence the future of that country in a way that is not only good for them but good for the United States."
Oddly enough, these eloquent words conflict with Hillary's own claim a few weeks ago that the women of Iraq were actually better off during the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein, rather than under a country that is experiencing a birth of freedom and democracy.
Mrs. Clinton became eligible for induction into the hall because she lives in Chappaqua, and said that she was "deeply moved" to be given such an honor by her adopted county. She also mentioned that she looks forward to the day when such an institution will be an anachronism: "Maybe we'll reach a point in our lives, at some time in the future, when we won't need a Women's History Month. . . or even a Women's Hall of Fame, which will be viewed as a relic of a previous time," the senator said. "But we're not there yet. We're making progress, but we still have a long way to go." Hillary then got a laugh when she noted that young women are always asking her whether it's possible to have a professional career and a family. Said Hill, "I never get asked that by young men."
Paperback Writer.
Hillary and her publisher, Simon & Schuster, took out a full-page ad in Publishers Weekly to thank booksellers for "their extraordinary effort" in selling 1.5 million copies of Living History. However, this doesn't mean the end for Hillary's memoirs, as Simon & Schuster's Scribner unit will publish an oversize paperback edition, with an added afterword from Hillary, on April 19. The paperback's first printing will exceed 500,000 copies.
Luck of Hillary.
Last week, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R.-Ill.) received some complaints for not extending an immediate invitation to Hillary for the annual St. Patrick Day's congressional luncheon. After Hastert belatedly offered an invitation to Mrs. Clinton, though, she politely declined, offering her own one-on-one meeting with the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, who was to be at the luncheon as her excuse. "We were happy to invite her and we're sorry she couldn't make it," said Hastert spokesman John Feehery. Meanwhile, Hillary spokesman Philippe Reines responded, "Sen. Clinton very much appreciated the speaker's gracious invitation, but as the luck of the Irish would have it, her schedule by then - including a private meeting with the Taoiseach (as Prime Minister Ahern is called by friends) - did not allow for her attendance."
Fundraising Letter Writer.
Hillary has sent out a new fund-raising letter for John Kerry, in which she certainly doesn't hold back. "By contributing to this great cause, you can make sure that John Kerry's message of hope, promise, and opportunity isn't drowned out in a sea of Republican attacks," she says. "We've already seen how mean-spirited a race the Republicans plan to run this year. George W. Bush has even gone negative in his television ads. Should they be allowed to get away with this kind of campaigning?" In case these potential donors don't know the answer to her rhetorical question, Hillary provides some help: "No! John Kerry is going to fight back every step of the way, and we need to be there to help him. Because we know that, in an open contest of ideas, John Kerry's leadership and vision for America will win out against George W. Bush's narrow agenda."
Hillary's appeal is part of a 10-day fund-raising marathon launched by her and her husband, which they hope will bring in $10 million for Kerry.
