A sleek and tailored Chelsea Clinton
joined her father at the recent G8 summit
in Japan
Chelsea fulfilled the role of the
First Lady, greeting crowds of well-wishers
in Okinawa |
She has also accompanied her
mother on the campaign trail in
New York. Hillary was clearly pleased
to have Chelsea around, telling
reporters: “You’ll see her sometimes,
which will be a delight for me.” |
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The blossoming of a newly
confident
As his eight-year presidency draws to a close, Bill Clinton has recently
started taking a very glamorous young lady to his most important state
occasions - his 20-year-old daughter Chelsea.
While her mother Hillary is busy campaigning for the New York Senate, it is the
newly confident Chelsea who has stepped into the First Lady role, chatting with
the Moroccan King Mohammed VI during his visit to Washington, sharing a joke
with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G8 summit in Japan, and receiving
a rapturous reception from crowds of onlookers wherever she goes.
Earlier this year, Chelsea made a similar impact on the public when she joined
her father on his landmark visit to India. “She charms everyone,”
observed a former White House aide.
Chelsea has blossomed from the awkward teenager with braces who was first
thrust into the spotlight in 1992 when her father was elected president. Until
recently - and particularly during the Monica Lewinsky scandal of recent years
- the only child of America’s First Family has been protected by her
parents from the media gaze.
But this summer, after arriving home from California’s Stanford University
for the holidays, Chelsea seems to be revelling in the limelight - and, at
times, even stealing it from her parents. Some political commentators in the
States have already started analysing the impact of the “Chelsea
factor”, for as well as accompanying her father at official occasions, she
has been joining her mother on the campaign trail in New York.
Although Chelsea’s move into the public eye has been recent it is not
unprecedented. Many first daughters have helped out American presidents over
the years, including Patsy and Maria Jefferson in the 19th century, who stood
by their father Thomas after their mother died, and more recently Susan Ford in
1974, who stepped in at state functions while her mother recovered from
cancer.
It would be fair to say, though, that Chelsea is the first of the presidential
children to play such an important role in both her parents’ public lives.
And coming, as it does, after so much scandal and speculation about her
parents’ relationship and her father’s dedication to family values,
perhaps never before has a presidential daughter been so important. |
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