In 1992, Bill Clinton ran on the promise of “two for the price of one”: If he was elected, Americans would also get Hillary Clinton, lawyer and activist Democrat, working for them in the White House.

Mrs. Clinton advocated for some of the most significant initiatives of her husband’s presidency, which were most often the product of compromise in a divided Congress. Indeed, many Democrats revere Mr. Clinton as the leader who brought the party back from the political wilderness by eschewing ideological purity in favor of a more incremental, politically centrist philosophy.

That legacy and experience lies at the heart of Mrs. Clinton’s approach as “a progressive who gets things done.” And the 1994 crime bill, which has emerged as a hot-button issue in the current campaign, is a good example in both its substance and the style of the Clinton manner of policy making.