MEETING HILLARY RODHAM - PART ONE
(The following is excerpted from :"Hillary Clinton --the Other Woman" by long-time friend and confidante of Bill Clinton from his earliest Arkansas days--DOLLY KYLE.)
The night of May28,1974 was a significant one.It was vote-counting time for the Democratic primary in Arkansas.It was an especially heady time for the young congressional candidate William Jefferson Clinton and for all of us who knew him as Billy.
Billy would be flying to Little Rock that night from Fayetteville,where he was teaching law while running for Congress.He had asked me to pick him up at the airport to take him to the television station downtown for a live interview.After that,we would go to Sen.Bill Fulbright's campaign headquarters for pictures and a brief show-of-support visit with his mentor,Then I would rake Billy back to the airport.
He would go back to Fayetteville to watch the returns with his campaign workers as he should.Billy was making thee quick round-trip to Little rock because it was the only city that had statewide television capability in 1974 and he wanted to take advantage of a free appearance there.
Billy was already thinking about the next political office as he always was;it would be a statewide race.With a borrowed airplane full of gas and a volunteer pilot (for my free taxi service)Billy was getting invaluable television publicity that night without any out-of-pocket expense.
(I already posted the initial description of Hillary. She and Bill got off the plane together)
In that moment,I noticed that the woman emitted an overpowering pdor of perspiration and greasy hair.I hoped I wouldn't gag when she got in my car.
Finally,Billy spoke.
"Dolly,this is Hillary.Hillary,Dolly."
I was stunned
I had no idea where Billy could have found someone so bizarre to play this little joke on me....i pretended that I didn't even notice this Hilary impersonation trick. I wasn't going to let hyis theater major,or whatever she was,see how appalled I was at her hideous disguise.
"Pleased to meet you,"I said to the hostile woman.
The woman only responded with a glare at me.Finally, seeing my hand still extended,she managed a grudging nod.She did not condescend to shake my hand.I had to admire her for staying in character...She was carrying it off well.
A few minutes later at the television station...the sandal-shod woman with lank,smelly hair stood off to the side and glared at everyone.I thought that Billy should have told her to lay off this little joke at the televisiojn station because,whoever she was, she would be a terrible reflection on him.He,however,nw=ever even seemed to notice that she was there.
I vwed to myself nort to drive off without the other woman,no matter how bad she smelled.
The interview at the television station went well and I was genuinely happy for Billy. Immediately after his appearance,the strange woman scowled and gestured at him.
She was trying to direct Billy's attention to the latest election results on the studio monitors. I didn't realize at that time that her big concern was Fulbright's losing vote tally.
I needn't have worried about leaving the bedraggled woman behind. When Billy was ready to go,she wordlessly followed him to my car...
Billy asked,"Where are we going?"
"We're going to Fulbright's headquarters of course.That's what you had planned for this part of the evening."
Senator Fulbright had his campaign headquarters in downtown Little rock,which was typical for a statewide race.The building was less than a dozen blocks from the television station we had just visited so it was no big deal to go there.
"It was the plan to ho to Fulbright headquarters,"Billy said."but I need to go to the airport.The plan has been changed."
I noted his use of the passive voice "the plan has changed."He had a habit of switching to the passive voice when he didn't want to take responsibility.I don't think I ever heard him say"I made a mistake."
"Why jas the plan changed?"I asked.Thinking about my sister who was also at Fulbright's campaign headquarters,I added,the Senator is expecting you."
"He'll understand,"Billy said."You can just tell him that I had a plane to catch."
I couldn't deal with his convoluted logic.Having in flown in private planes for yeas,I knew who should be in charge of the take-off time.I didn't turn the car around but continued toward Fulbright's headquarters.
"Yes,you do have a plane," I answered,"but you certainly don't have to catch one.It is a private plane and it's your for the evening.It's important that you stop by to show your support for the Senator.After all,you wouldn't be this far along in your career,especially at your age,without everything he's done for you."
"Didn't you see the returns coming in on the monitors at the television station?"Billy asked impatiently.
"Of course I saw them,"I replied with some irritation.I hated it when Billy asked me stupid questions."And,of course,I'm sure that you're going to win the Democratic nomination gor Congress."
I did not inject my opinion that the Incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt would whip the bejeebers out of him in the general election the following November.
"Yes,I'll win,"Billy replied,"but Fulbright is losing!"
There was no tone of affection,sadness,empathy or graciousness in his voice when Billy said the name Fulbright.He emphasized the word losing as if this losing should be an explanation for not going to see his mentor on the most critical night of the elder statesman's thirty-year career."
"Yes,he's vlosing,"I agreed,"and that's very sad,but what does that have to do with you?"
"Well,Billy explained with strained patience.I don' want to be seen with a loser"
He spat out the epithet loser so venomously that I can still hear the reverberation in my mind all these decades later.
I felt a kick in my stomach from my friend.
How could Billy let himself be seen in public with this awful unknown woman in the brown sack?How could he turn his back on his beloved mentor after all these years? How could he call Senator Fulbright a loser?
I truly loved the Senator for the way he had sponsored and mentored Billy.and Billy had always talked to me as if he loved the Senator too.
Bill Fulbright had provided a Senate job for Billy while he was in college at Georgetown University;he had introduced him to powerful people in Washington;he had given him support for the Rhodes Scholarship that Billy received to study abroad;he had provided an impeccable reference for Billy to get a teaching position at the University of Arkansas aw School and,most recently,the Senator had given hims endorsement and had made the introductions to the financial backers for Billy's congressional campaign. The "heavy hitters"whom I had met a few months earlier were all writing checks based on the Senator's endorsement of Billy Clinton.
My own little sister shared my feelings for the Senator and she was at his campaign headquarters with the elder gentleman and his wife
(The following is excerpted from :"Hillary Clinton --the Other Woman" by long-time friend and confidante of Bill Clinton from his earliest Arkansas days--DOLLY KYLE.)
The night of May28,1974 was a significant one.It was vote-counting time for the Democratic primary in Arkansas.It was an especially heady time for the young congressional candidate William Jefferson Clinton and for all of us who knew him as Billy.
Billy would be flying to Little Rock that night from Fayetteville,where he was teaching law while running for Congress.He had asked me to pick him up at the airport to take him to the television station downtown for a live interview.After that,we would go to Sen.Bill Fulbright's campaign headquarters for pictures and a brief show-of-support visit with his mentor,Then I would rake Billy back to the airport.
He would go back to Fayetteville to watch the returns with his campaign workers as he should.Billy was making thee quick round-trip to Little rock because it was the only city that had statewide television capability in 1974 and he wanted to take advantage of a free appearance there.
Billy was already thinking about the next political office as he always was;it would be a statewide race.With a borrowed airplane full of gas and a volunteer pilot (for my free taxi service)Billy was getting invaluable television publicity that night without any out-of-pocket expense.
(I already posted the initial description of Hillary. She and Bill got off the plane together)
In that moment,I noticed that the woman emitted an overpowering pdor of perspiration and greasy hair.I hoped I wouldn't gag when she got in my car.
Finally,Billy spoke.
"Dolly,this is Hillary.Hillary,Dolly."
I was stunned
I had no idea where Billy could have found someone so bizarre to play this little joke on me....i pretended that I didn't even notice this Hilary impersonation trick. I wasn't going to let hyis theater major,or whatever she was,see how appalled I was at her hideous disguise.
"Pleased to meet you,"I said to the hostile woman.
The woman only responded with a glare at me.Finally, seeing my hand still extended,she managed a grudging nod.She did not condescend to shake my hand.I had to admire her for staying in character...She was carrying it off well.
A few minutes later at the television station...the sandal-shod woman with lank,smelly hair stood off to the side and glared at everyone.I thought that Billy should have told her to lay off this little joke at the televisiojn station because,whoever she was, she would be a terrible reflection on him.He,however,nw=ever even seemed to notice that she was there.
I vwed to myself nort to drive off without the other woman,no matter how bad she smelled.
The interview at the television station went well and I was genuinely happy for Billy. Immediately after his appearance,the strange woman scowled and gestured at him.
She was trying to direct Billy's attention to the latest election results on the studio monitors. I didn't realize at that time that her big concern was Fulbright's losing vote tally.
I needn't have worried about leaving the bedraggled woman behind. When Billy was ready to go,she wordlessly followed him to my car...
Billy asked,"Where are we going?"
"We're going to Fulbright's headquarters of course.That's what you had planned for this part of the evening."
Senator Fulbright had his campaign headquarters in downtown Little rock,which was typical for a statewide race.The building was less than a dozen blocks from the television station we had just visited so it was no big deal to go there.
"It was the plan to ho to Fulbright headquarters,"Billy said."but I need to go to the airport.The plan has been changed."
I noted his use of the passive voice "the plan has changed."He had a habit of switching to the passive voice when he didn't want to take responsibility.I don't think I ever heard him say"I made a mistake."
"Why jas the plan changed?"I asked.Thinking about my sister who was also at Fulbright's campaign headquarters,I added,the Senator is expecting you."
"He'll understand,"Billy said."You can just tell him that I had a plane to catch."
I couldn't deal with his convoluted logic.Having in flown in private planes for yeas,I knew who should be in charge of the take-off time.I didn't turn the car around but continued toward Fulbright's headquarters.
"Yes,you do have a plane," I answered,"but you certainly don't have to catch one.It is a private plane and it's your for the evening.It's important that you stop by to show your support for the Senator.After all,you wouldn't be this far along in your career,especially at your age,without everything he's done for you."
"Didn't you see the returns coming in on the monitors at the television station?"Billy asked impatiently.
"Of course I saw them,"I replied with some irritation.I hated it when Billy asked me stupid questions."And,of course,I'm sure that you're going to win the Democratic nomination gor Congress."
I did not inject my opinion that the Incumbent John Paul Hammerschmidt would whip the bejeebers out of him in the general election the following November.
"Yes,I'll win,"Billy replied,"but Fulbright is losing!"
There was no tone of affection,sadness,empathy or graciousness in his voice when Billy said the name Fulbright.He emphasized the word losing as if this losing should be an explanation for not going to see his mentor on the most critical night of the elder statesman's thirty-year career."
"Yes,he's vlosing,"I agreed,"and that's very sad,but what does that have to do with you?"
"Well,Billy explained with strained patience.I don' want to be seen with a loser"
He spat out the epithet loser so venomously that I can still hear the reverberation in my mind all these decades later.
I felt a kick in my stomach from my friend.
How could Billy let himself be seen in public with this awful unknown woman in the brown sack?How could he turn his back on his beloved mentor after all these years? How could he call Senator Fulbright a loser?
I truly loved the Senator for the way he had sponsored and mentored Billy.and Billy had always talked to me as if he loved the Senator too.
Bill Fulbright had provided a Senate job for Billy while he was in college at Georgetown University;he had introduced him to powerful people in Washington;he had given him support for the Rhodes Scholarship that Billy received to study abroad;he had provided an impeccable reference for Billy to get a teaching position at the University of Arkansas aw School and,most recently,the Senator had given hims endorsement and had made the introductions to the financial backers for Billy's congressional campaign. The "heavy hitters"whom I had met a few months earlier were all writing checks based on the Senator's endorsement of Billy Clinton.
My own little sister shared my feelings for the Senator and she was at his campaign headquarters with the elder gentleman and his wife