Interviews today on The Takeaway:
Max Brantley, a senior editor of the Arkansas Times, has covered the Clintons for decades. He explains that when Hillary Clinton first arrived on the Arkansas political scene in 1974, she ruffled a few feathers. On the heels of the women's movement, Clinton kept her maiden name after marrying Bill in 1975.
"Things are applied to her that are not applied to men—it's cliché, but a strong woman is [often labeled] a bitch and a strong man is a strong man," says Brantley.
Brantley notes that many in Arkansas questioned the Clintons' marriage, though Hillary eventually took her husband's name, in 1980. As the state's First Lady, she focused on children's rights and education.
Clinton then supported her husband's career through two terms in the White House, and then Bill supported her, in turn, as Clinton ran for Senator from New York.
Beth Harpaz covered Clinton's Senate campaign in 2000 and subsequently published "The Girls on the Bus: Covering Hillary." She's now a travel editor for the Associated Press, and she remembers Clinton's first campaign as a historic moment: The first time a First Lady transitioned into a political career of her own right, and the first time New York State elected a woman to office.