But Hillary Clinton deserves to be considered on her own formidable record. It is unfair to categorize her as Bill Clinton’s wife, or as, potentially, the first woman to receive a major party’s nomination for president. Through hard work and tenacity, she has risen above pigeonholing.

In Clinton’s defense on the Iraq War, many Democrats supported the invasion launched by President George Bush. Clinton was a senator from New York at the time, and on Sept. 12 she had stood in the rubble at Ground Zero. After that, she worked hard — against the Bush administration — on behalf of the World Trade Center’s first responders.

Clinton is a pragmatist, who was known during her time in the Senate for working with Republican senators to get things done, such as providing military health benefits to reservists and members of the National Guard. As first lady, she helped create and led the effort to push through Congress the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health coverage to millions of children in low-income families. As secretary of state, she pushed for and enforced tough sanctions on Iran, which brought that country to the negotiating table. She has been a strong and consistent advocate for women’s rights internationally.