Madame Survivor

Hillary Rodham Clinton Was The First Woman Nominated By A Major Us Political Party To Run For President. Is She A Political Survivor Or A Polarising Force Who’s Had Her Day?

- Lynda Dugdale

Hillary Rodham Clinton recalls the first time she was bullied. She was four years old and the neighbourhood kids were teasing her about a bow in her hair. She ran home, in tears, seeking comfort from her mother. But Dorothy Rodham was determined that her daughter would grow up “brave and resilient” and her reply wasn’t quite what you’d expect. “There’s no room for cowards in this house,” she said. “You go back outside and figure out how you’re going to deal with what these kids are doing,” she declared.

It was a harsh lesson for a child not much past her toddler years but Clinton says she’s thankful for her mother’s tough love that day because it set her on the path to stand up to bullies throughout her career and survive countless public battles, and some personal ones, too.

“Everybody gets knocked down in life. What matters is whether you get back up and keep going. That was a lesson I had drilled into me from a very young age by my mother,” says the now 70-year-old stateswoman.

Earlier this year, thousands flocked to convention centres across India, Australia and New Zealand to hear Clinton speak while on a promotional tour for her latest book, What Happened. It was a rare opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the most defining women of our generation.

So what more do we know about her now, almost two years after she lost the presidential race to Donald Trump in the biggest upset in American politics? We learned that Clinton is not a criminal, she’s not dangerous, and she’s not a threat to America’s future. What she is, is human – she is intelligent, and she’s committed to public service and defending human rights. And she’s definitely not finished.

THE SURVIVOR