Born: 1947

The oldest child of a homemaker and a businessman, Hillary Rodham grew up in a comfortable Chicago suburb. A Goldwater Republican in the early 60’s she became a Democrat at Wellesley College, where she was student body president and commencement speaker in 1968. At Yale Law School, she focused on children’s issues and dated classmate Bill Clinton, a Rhodes scholar who aimed to be President. They wed in 1975 and had a daughter. While Bill pursued Arkansas politics, Hillary practiced at a Little Rock law firm. She supported his political ambitions and was a key advisor, chairing the state’s Education Standards Committee when he was Governor.

As First Lady, Hillary initially assumed a high profile policy-making role, leading the Administration’s 1994 effort at broad health care reform. When that failed, she turned to a more traditional “women’s issue” — the welfare of children and families. But her own marriage came under embarrassing public scrutiny when her husband was impeached for lying about his illicit relationship with a young intern. Whatever her marital woes, Hillary staunchly opposed the 1998 attempt to remove her husband from office. Then, when a Democratic Senator from New York announced he’d retire in 2001, Hillary established residency there, ran for the seat, and won — becoming New York’s first woman Senator and the only First Lady to win elective office.

Forty-Second President
William J. Clinton

Born: 1946, Hope, AR

Born William Jefferson Blythe IV two months after his father died, Bill Clinton later took his stepfather’s surname. Raised in Arkansas, Clinton was part of the “baby boom generation” that came of age during the Vietnam war, the civil rights and women’s liberation movements. He studied at Georgetown, Oxford and Yale Law — where he met his wife, Hillary — then went home and entered politics, eventually serving five terms as Governor. Joining the 1992 Presidential race when incumbent Bush looked unbeatable, Clinton rode an economic downturn to victory in a tight three-way race.

President Clinton won passage of NAFTA and the “Brady Bill,” but lost his bid for health care reform. Then in 1994, the Democrats lost their Congressional majority to Republicans who stressed conservative themes. Clinton heard and refocused — on the deficit, crime and welfare reform. Reelected in 1996, Clinton pushed for peace in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and the Mideast, and for racial healing at home. but he himself became a divisive figure when an investigation by the Special Prosecutor’s Office revealed his illicit relationship with a White House intern. Clinton’s denial of the impropriety led to his 1998 impeachment by the House, though the Senate failed to convict. In his final year, Clinton increased America’s parklands and supported Hillary’s winning Senate run (D.N.Y.)

Forty-Second President
Democrat