What Happened? Hillary Rodham Clinton's Account of the US Presidential 2016 Election and its Aftermath The author (Hillary Rod... Read More

What Happened? Hillary Rodham Clinton's Account of the US Presidential 2016 Election and its Aftermath The author (Hillary Rodham Clinton) who was defeated by Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic nomination for US President, describes how she kept going after a shocking defeat in her historical run for the 2016 US Presidential Election. First Lady Clinton became the first woman to achieve the party's nomination for US President subsequent to serving in the NY Senate and as US Secretary of State. Believe it or not, shining in the campaign and in the book is the First Lady's support of their only daughter Chelsea with her marriage to Marc Mezvinsky, and new granddaughter Charlotte and Aidan. The latter born in Manhattan New York on June 18, 2016 during the campaign. Of course, Chelsea who introduced her mother at the Democratic National Convention, already obtained degrees in health care and international relations (Also, see wikipedia). Already having watched the campaign debates (Yes!), it was quite moving to have insight into the experiential and personal feelings of the candidate on major moments and routine campaign events (e.g., ABC News David Muir, Hillary Clinton Becomes the Democratic Party's Presumptive Nominee). I smiled at one of the quotes hanging in Hillary Clinton's home, remembering from the 1970s: It is hard to be a woman. You must think like a man. Act like a lady. Look like a young girl. And work like a horse!Its no wonder that her public policy agenda includes: higher minimum wages, equal pay for women, paid family and medical leave, and affordable childcare as part of workforce modernization. She thanked her supporters for 18 million cracks in the proverbial and literal glass ceiling (one can see and imagine, but one cannot cross). Hillary Rodham Clinton later announced that Tonight's victory is not about one person. It belongs to generations of women and men who struggled and sacrificed and made this moment possible. The book also offers insight into the Bill Clinton Presidency with comparisons to the race and state of the Nation in 1992, on Democrats Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, and Bernie Sanders (running in 2020), and her career and commitment to children and families (Children's Defense Fund, Beijing Conference, Legal Services, Yale Law School). I was stunned at the apologies about the crime bill (1994), compromise during the heroin epidemic, and its contribution to what became mass incarceration at stiff federal drug sentences. Interestingly, in her reports on polling, Hillary Clinton explained that she attracted more voters under $50,000 in income, while with 60% Trump voters without college degrees, their average income was $72,000. In 2014, Pew Research indicated that 69% Democratic women hoped to see a female President and 46% Democratic men, while only 20% Republican women and 16% Republican men so aspired. Very proud, I bet, is the Hillary Clinton who won on the economy, on caring about people, on doing a good job as Senator and Secretary of State, and on having good judgment (in spite of a disagreement with NBC's Matt Lauer!) Julie Ann Racino (Deputy Director) was concerned that Hillary Clinton was afraid that she disappointed President Obama, hearing the classic woman ring to their relationship post-2008 contentious election. However, in graciousness, Hillary Clinton challenged my supporters and all Americans to keep working for our vision of a better, stronger, and fairer America. The statistics in the book report the election was decided by 77,744 votes out of a 136 million cast with 44,000 to have changed the outcome! The campaign for women marked pure misogyny on stage (I was appalled at the exchange with Megan Kelly and Donald Trump on behalf of all young girls experiencing coming of age; it's called puberty). Pp. 136-140 recount vulgar language on pigs and sluts, stabs at women, and stories about NYS Kirsten Gillibrand's encounters on groping, grabbing and yanking while serving in US Senate. Hillary Clinton controlled her anger (unlike that basket of deplorables) and pronounced: They-our daughters, granddaughters and sons- deserve better than the toxic masculinity that Donald Trump embodies. I made note that remember, this was a US Presidential campaign. In the disability sector, we appreciate the account on the Education for All Handicapped Children's Act of 1975, and on the descriptions of real people (e.g., children and families whom Hillary Clinton met and worked with through the years). We appreciate the clean energy half billion solar panels, major investments in scientific research, and deep concern over the future of manufacturing and the new economy citing such stats as the loss of 400,000 steelworker jobs since 1962-2005 and an even larger loss in the retail sectors. And, I agree with her analysis that we in America are locked into an outdated picture of the working class that distorts policy priorities. The reader will find different takes on the Clinton emails (personal email server and US Department of State) so prominent in the news, the role of Russian election interference and the Putin-Trump relationship (awaiting the release Mueller report, 2019), the Flint, Michigan water crisis, the Affordable Care Act and health care reform, voter suppression campaigns, and the extensive discussion on the coal mining industry, including investment of $30 billion in distressed coal communities. Hillary Clinton centers herself with Eleanor Roosevelt (Roosevelt Island site of her campaign announcement), the Women at the Seneca Hall of Fame (Declaration of Sentiments), historical and political women (e.g., Abigail Adams, Geraldine Ferraro), her work counterparts Joe Biden and John Kerry (with Hillary citing 122 Nation travel in 4 years), and with comparisons to the 1990 Clinton Administration (e.g., portable vouchers in Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing), her best lifetime friend ( at the Convention), and Marian Wright Edelman of the CDF (Children's Defense Fund). The book simply indicates to read her other books, Hard Choices (on public policies) and It Takes A Village! Congratulations to one and all! As Hillary Clinton described The American dream is big enough for all of us! And as hard as it might be, your daughter will grow up and become the President of the United States.Julie Ann Racino, ASPA, HHSA, 2019Cornell and Syracuse University Alumni Read Less