Hillary Rodham Clinton: lady to assume role other than first

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton went from being in the spotlight while testifying on Capitol Hill about health care, to going behind the scenes campaigning for her husband. What direction she will take now has experts speculating.

Hillary Clinton came to the White House in 1993 with the intent of remaking the image of the first lady, said Christopher Carney, assistant professor of political science at Worthington Scranton Campus. She wanted to proceed with her own agenda concerning health care reform instead of supporting the president's, he said.

"People were impressed with health care and with Hillary, but it was the wrong issue to tackle so soon," he said. "People were just used to Barbara Bush, a more traditional first lady."

Despite Hillary Clinton's struggle for reform, one health care advocacy organization, the Premier Institute, Washington, D.C., said her association with the issue does not affect it one way or the other. Health care is a serious issue that has been wrongly associated with the first lady, said James Scott, president of the institute.

"As she steps away from the debate, nothing changes and the problems still remain," he said. "Her participation had no effect because nothing happened."

One expert disagrees, saying Hillary Clinton's battle for health care reform brought the issue into the public eye. Barbara O'Connor, professor of communications and director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at the California State University said the first lady's testimony on Capitol Hill raised public discourse and started people talking about the important issues of health care.

After the first two years of her husband's term, the first lady left behind her agenda and became slightly more traditional. Public opinion polls proved people were uncomfortable with Hillary Clinton's aggressiveness and new role, Carney said, mainly because she is not an elected official.

Even though Hillary Clinton's agenda changed, she did not, O'Connor said. It was public relations at the White House that made her image change with the events they scheduled for her, she said.

The question remains whether or not Hillary Clinton will return to her agenda and leave behind her passiveness.

The first lady has four more years to achieve her agenda, but Carney said she will keep a low profile. Although she will still be an active first lady, he expects her to keep her aggressiveness to a minimum.

"She won't be a soldier fighting in the forefront for the democratic platform," he said. "But she won't stay behind the scenes either."

Hillary Clinton will not get involved with anything that can create controversy, said William Bianco, associate professor of political science at the University.

"She will continue to advocate policy, but in areas that her participation will not raise a red flag," he said.

The first lady will continue to be a voice in support of health care reform and pick up other issues, but continue to be less visible because she does not want to be perceived as being too aggressive or too powerful, Carney said.

Hillary Clinton will remain in the forefront concerning child-care issues, O'Connor said. She has spent years with children's groups, and her priority is protecting children in society, she said.