My Conversation With Hillary Clinton's Mother

By Jeralyn, Section Hillary Clinton
Posted on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:18:29 PM EST
Tags: Iowa 08 (all tags)

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I just rode up the elevator at my hotel with Dorothy Rodham, Hillary Clinton's mother. I didn't recognize her. It was around 10:30 pm. I was waiting for the elevator to go up to my room with my laptop in one hand and a glass of brandy in the other. She walked up with a young woman holding her arm -- they were bundled up and had just come in from outside.

I wondered if she might be Helen Thomas, but aside from the age similarity, they looked nothing alike. Since I didn't recognize her, I stopped paying attention. Then she and her companion made a comment to each other about how cold it was outside. Being polite, I chimed in. Here's the conversation that followed:

Me: It is cold. A glass of brandy really helps (I lift my glass to them.)

Dorothy Rodham: (Laughs, then says): You look so familiar. Are you on MTV?

Me: (Very perplexed, partly because I wish I looked young enough to be on MTV but more because I can't imagine this elderly woman watches MTV): I'm Jeralyn Merritt. I'm a legal analyst but not on MTV.

Mrs. Rodham: That must be why I know you. You look so Irish.
Me: Oh...only I'm not Irish.
Mrs. Rodham: Well, those eyes, they're so green. You look so Irish.

The elevator arrives, we get in. [More...]

Riding Up:

Me: Where are you from?
Mrs. Rodham: D.C.
Me: Oh, are you a writer?
Mrs. Rodham: No, I'm just visiting. (she says with a laugh and smiling eyes)
Companion: (Squeezes her arm, laughs and says:) "Yes, we're just visiting."

The elevator stops and I look to see what floor we are on. It's my floor. I look to see where she's going and see it's the floor where the Clintons are staying. By the time I walk the 50 steps to my room, I realize I just had a conversation with Hillary Clinton's mother, Dorothy Rodham.

I kick myself for not realizing it immediately. Then I think to myself what a better story this would have been if only she had said, "Brandy... what a great idea, I'm going to have one too."

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My Conversation With Hillary Clinton's Mother | 47 comments (47 topical)

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3 stories about the Clintons. Do they have a dog (none / 0) (#1)
by mdiogu on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:26:05 PM EST

That will be a better story. I have to admit, the Clintons are like Chinese Buffet less filling. Sometimes I wish they just go away.

As I recall, the dog, unfortunately, (none / 0) (#2)
by oculus on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:29:30 PM EST

was run over by a car in Westchester Co., NY.

P.S. If Hillary's mom is campaigning on her behalf, is it so surprising Obama is ahead in the polls?


There must be a dog (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Maryb2004 on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:38:48 PM EST

because when Katie Couric interviewed Hillary and asked her the last time she was angry - Hillary said she got angry the day before when the dog woke her up at 5:00 a.m. and had to go out.


: Back slowly away from the TV. (none / 0) (#6)
by oculus on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 12:10:47 AM EST

I think her mom (none / 0) (#5)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 12:01:53 AM EST

is a nice image. I don't think she should have brought Chelsea. The last thing the Clinton's should be doing is showing people that they have 27 year old daughter who makes six figures on wall street. I think it will serve to remind Iowans that the Clinton's are nothing like them.


dude, let me clue you in (none / 0) (#9)
by cpinva on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 02:10:56 AM EST

here, since you clearly missed it: none of the candidates, democratic or republican, are anything like your average iowan. the republicans come closest; bland, white males. subtract giuliani's obvious ethnicity, and that they're all wealthy. aside from that, they do represent the iowa demographic.


What most Iowans didn't attend Harvard (5.00 / 1) (#11)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 08:01:59 AM EST

teach constitutional law and were community organizers in major US cities or have a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas?

That's is odd. I thought that described everyone.


You think like a republican (none / 0) (#16)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 09:59:22 AM EST

people don't relate to a candidate because they are the same race or gender and they shouldn't. What a superficial analysis.

were community organizers in major US cities or have a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas?

Point here is he clearly didn't come from privilege, like most Iowans, and his time as political elite is relatively new. I guess if you are an Edwards supporter you will interpret that as he isn't white, and he is kind of foreign so you should be suspicious.

While the Clintons didn't come from wealth, and having her mother shows that, she grew up a regular person, having her daughter shows that it has been a really long time since her or Bill lived like regular people.


Kerry beat Edwards in '04. (none / 0) (#17)
by oculus on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:19:13 AM EST

yes but (none / 0) (#18)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:26:42 AM EST

Kerry never needed a "the JFK i know" campaign, he didn't have an image problem, well didn't think he had one, she thinks she has one, and the optics of her mother and daughter were supposed to help. I'm just pointing out it would be more effective with just mom.


Kerry=image problem. (none / 0) (#19)
by oculus on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:28:27 AM EST

Windsurfing, private school in Switzerland, married to extremely wealthy woman, couldln't even get any cred when he went hunting.


: i agree (none / 0) (#20)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:30:41 AM EST

that is why i wrote didn't think he had one.
I think Kerry is a bad example people didn't start paying attention to him till he had one, he was never vetted.

You engage in magical thinking (none / 0) (#21)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:43:24 AM EST

I merely pointing out that Obama's life experiences which you now shamefully discount are not the same as most people.

You make insulting JimakaPPJ leaps of logic and have just accused me of racism. That is out of bounds. I would like a retraction.


Where did (none / 0) (#22)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:55:42 AM EST

I call you a racist? how did i discount Obama's life experience?

I just pointed out that the idea that someone has to have done the exact same thing as or that someone has to look exactly like you, to relate to you is a superficial analysis.

It is and i stand by that.


Not surprised (none / 0) (#23)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:59:19 AM EST

you can't or won't retract your insult.


Blind and forgetful (none / 0) (#24)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 11:00:24 AM EST

I guess if you are an Edwards supporter you will interpret that as he isn't white, and he is kind of foreign so you should be suspicious.

I was refering to the post you (none / 0) (#31)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:18:45 PM EST

replied to.
I never called anyone racist.

If you self identify with what i said, and then deem your identity as racist, that has nothing to do with me.


: Oh but it does (5.00 / 1) (#40)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:51:03 PM EST

and if you have an ounce of integrity, you would withdraw your comment.
If you really thought your comment was pure and you had pure motives, you would attempt to withdraw the insult. But you can't bring yourself to do it. Speaks volumes.

And you attack someone (none / 0) (#34)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:39:05 PM EST

who isn't even in the conversation.

I would like an apology.


But you make leaps of logic all the time (5.00 / 1) (#41)
by Molly Bloom on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 10:51:40 PM EST

This from the (none / 0) (#42)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 09:47:11 AM EST

person who thinks a National Sales Tax is "unfair."

But that aside, why go for an implied insult to someone who isn't even the conversation??


This is OT but ...It is unfair (5.00 / 1) (#43)
by Molly Bloom on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 11:02:33 AM EST

its not a leap of logic and any good economist would tell you its unfair to middle incomers.

But hey,don't let facts get in the way of your fantasy.

This is way off topic.


Of course it is "fair." (none / 0) (#44)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 01:49:54 PM EST

Because it is the same for everyone.

Now, it may not be the "right" think to do, because we believe that people with higher incomes should pay more.

Just admit that and quit trying to claim it is fair.

If used as a method to pay for NHC, we can make it unfair by adjusting the rate on certain items purchased by those in the lower income brackets. That would be the right thing to do.


Idiotic (5.00 / 1) (#45)
by squeaky on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 01:58:35 PM EST

Everyone is not the same. Taxation is most fair when it is proportional to income. By extending your nonsense logic, a flat sales tax should be the same for every item, and not a percentage of the cost of the item.

$5.00 tax on everything from a porsche to a tootsie roll.


Sigh, everyone doesn't make the same so everyone (none / 0) (#46)
by Molly Bloom on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 03:32:24 PM EST

paying the same isn't per se fair.

Still OT.


: If you claim (none / 0) (#47)
by jimakaPPJ on Thu Jan 03, 2008 at 05:03:08 PM EST

that adjusting rates based on income is the right thing to... aka FIT.....then adjusting sales taxes on items purchased by all is the right thing to do.
In the former the premise is that the higher income person has partly profited more because of the efforts of all, so it is right that they pay more.
In the latter the premise is that a sales tax effects the lower income person more because they spend, as a percentage of their income, more on certain "essentials." So it is right that the taxes on the essentials be adjusted down while the taxes on the non-essentials and luxury goods be adjusted up.
None of the above is "fair." It is, however, the "right" thing to do from a societal view.

So in order (1.00 / 1) (#15)
by Jgarza on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 09:51:42 AM EST

for candidates to relate to Iowans they have to be white? yeah you are a smart one, so do you support Edwards because he is the only white male, therefore making him the most electable?


That's funny... (none / 0) (#13)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 08:58:18 AM EST

...because most Iowans I know (and that is a whole heck of a lot of them) aren't "bland white males".

Believe it or not, there are people who aren't white and/or male in Iowa. Heck, there are even quite a few people who are "ethnic" like Rudy.

I'm not sure what your problem with Iowa/Iowans is, but you're the one that needs to get a clue.


Let me add.... (none / 0) (#29)
by kdog on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 02:23:58 PM EST

none of the candidates are anything like your average human being, never mind Iowan.

Remember...only psychopaths want the job!


: Funny, (none / 0) (#30)
by sarcastic unnamed one on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 03:33:23 PM EST

I was talking to a friend before the '04 elections, and he (a Republican) would not vote for Bush because, in his words, "You don't reward someone for f*ing up."
To me, being elected POTUS, especially these days, would be anything but a reward...

Nope, Only two (none / 0) (#3)
by Jeralyn on Tue Jan 01, 2008 at 11:37:02 PM EST

There's been only one about Hillary in two days and now this one about Hillary's mom -- that's two total -- my main stories since getting to Iowa have been about the Iowa poll, Romney, Obama and Kucinich.


: and (none / 0) (#33)
by ding7777 on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:34:03 PM EST

how COLD it is

Brandy in an open container in a public place? (none / 0) (#7)
by JSN on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 12:51:03 AM EST

Most hotels (none / 0) (#8)
by Jeralyn on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 01:03:23 AM EST

let you bring your nightcap to your room. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. You aren't leaving the premises, only changing places.


Is Iowa still a "dry" state? (none / 0) (#14)
by oculus on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 09:17:54 AM EST

Was it... (5.00 / 1) (#26)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 11:09:56 AM EST

...ever a dry state after 1919?


Likker-by-the-drink (none / 0) (#27)
by Ed Drone on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 01:47:51 PM EST

is what they called it. You could drink all you wanted at home, but in a public place, you could only drink your own liquor (which you had to purchase at a State Store). So clubs with memberships sprang up, whereby a member would have a stock of his own liquor kept on the premises in a locked container to which the customer/club member had a key -- hence the name "key clubs." "Visitors" could buy drinks even if not members of the clubs, so there was much, much skirting of the law, to the point that it was almost unenforceable, and pressure to change it was high.

When I left Iowa in 1963 for the Army, this was the case. When I got back, in 1966, you could buy a drink at any licensed establishment, of which there were many. I found it a wonderful change, with the normal human behavior uninhibited by the hypocrisy of the former situation. I suspect the end of Prohibition was a lot like this.

I don't know anything about the 'open container' rules, though.

Thanks... (none / 0) (#28)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 02:09:05 PM EST

...for the knowledge, Ed. Guess that was a little before my time. Never had any problem getting a drink when I turned 16--not even at the State liquor store.

They still had those (state-run liquor stores) when I left in '86. Washington State is still doing that, IIRC--although they at least sell beer and wine in the grocery stores.

Never have quite understood a state being in the retail liquor business.


Its (none / 0) (#32)
by Wile ECoyote on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:28:27 PM EST

all about the taxes.


: Yes... (none / 0) (#36)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:45:27 PM EST

...but they can collect taxes no matter who is the distributor/retailer. Probably more of a control/use issue.

In CO beer (none / 0) (#35)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:42:07 PM EST

in a grocery/quickie stop is 3.2 max...

Go figure...


Ever go to Gulfport, Illinois? (none / 0) (#38)
by oculus on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 05:53:41 PM EST

Not so dry. Den of iniquity.


: No... (none / 0) (#39)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 07:50:37 PM EST

...but we used to cross the Mississippi at Guttenberg and go into Wisconsin as young 'ens. They had real beer there--and didn't seem to care how they let into the bars.

Down south (none / 0) (#37)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 04:51:14 PM EST

the deal was that you could bring in a bottle and buy set-ups... Ice, coke/7-up or water. Usually 75 cents...which was a nice profit margin and the owner didn't have to worry about paying any taxes except state and Fed taxes.... a half pint fit nicely inside your boot...as did a small 32 cal... uppity folks had silver flasks for their booze

In my home town we had a bootlegger who wore a long top coat year around in which he many pockets sewn in where he kept his wares... Old Crow was the standard... He did have his rules... You had to be at least 16 before he would sell to you.. Old enough to drive..old enough to drink

How times have changed...


Evidently open container ordinances depends on (none / 0) (#25)
by JSN on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 11:03:33 AM EST

what city you are in. There is an Iowa code section on containers but it appears to be related to bootlegging not public order offenses. It seems to me to be a stretch to say that an elevator is part of a bar.


hotelier liquor licenses are .. (none / 0) (#10)
by allwrits on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 03:58:20 AM EST

good for the entire premises in most states, or so I have always been told when I do the same thing..

: Liquor laws are the craziest (none / 0) (#12)
by jimakaPPJ on Wed Jan 02, 2008 at 08:16:07 AM EST

of crazy laws. At one time in Texas you couldn't move your drink from your table to another table... a wait person had to do it. Liquor could be legal on one corner and illegal across the street. Hotels on the illegal corner had private clubs that cost a dollar to join for a year... kept the low life's out.
In Alabama, I was told one time and can't verify it, you couldn't bring in booze without paying a corkage fee. I assume that was passed for the hotels.