Thousands of Clinton White House papers released

The White House documents come as Hillary Clinton prepares for a possible second campaign for the presidency in 2016. The White House documents come as Hillary Clinton prepares for a possible second campaign for the presidency in 2016. Photo: Olivier Douliery, McClatchy-Tribune News Service Photo: Olivier Douliery, McClatchy-Tribune News Service Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Thousands of Clinton White House papers released 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Washington --

Thousands of pages of internal documents from Bill Clinton's White House made public Friday open a rare window into the political and policy machinations from an era that is now of acute interest not just to the history of one presidency but to the prospects of another.

The papers underscore how intent Hillary Rodham Clinton was in wooing key Republicans as well as fellow Democrats in Congress during her ultimately failed effort to overhaul health care. They show a White House intensely aware of critical news media coverage and seeking message discipline. And they provide glimpses of how the president and his team pivoted to respond once Republicans took control of both houses of Congress.

The documents reflect internal fights over direction and include sometimes-blunt assessments of different political actors: One state leader is "a retrograde governor" with no "common sense or compassion." A key congressman is "not well liked" by state officials. A House Democrat "could be a problem" unless he is made to feel consulted. Another's "appetite for meetings can never be satiated," and he "may be mad" unless he is called. Still another requires "stroking" that "will pay dividends" later.

Although incomplete reviews of the documents turned up no explosive revelations, collectively they detail the inner workings of a White House during a tumultuous time and reinforce the signal role played by Hillary Clinton, particularly in her early years before she became a senator and later secretary of state.

The documents are the first batch of a larger set of papers withheld until now under exceptions to public disclosure requirements in federal law, exceptions that expired a year ago. As Hillary Clinton prepares for a possible second campaign for the presidency in 2016, friends and foes alike will pore over the documents.