equally impressive. When it was rare for women to do so, she had graduated from law schooand then briefly practiced law in southwest Arkansas. On July 11, Hillary, Chelsea, and I flew to New York for the Democratic convention. We hahad a good five weeks, while Bush andixed in a wheelbarrow—cement that today still bears her handprints. Her son bears her handprints, too. She pressed herpride and her hopes and heroil painting dreams deep into my soul. So, you see, I know what Dan Quayleeither strengthen our position or undermine it. In 1972 and 1980, Democrats had been crippled by showing the American people a divided, dispirited, undisciplined party. I was determined not to let that happen again. So was DNC chairman Ron Brown. Harold IckesAlexis Herman, Ron’s deputy and the CEO of the convention, took charge of our operation to make sure we showcased unity, new ideas, and new leaders. It didn’t hurt that rank-and-file Democrats were desperate to win after twelve years of Republican control of the White House. Still, we had plenty to do tooil paintings pull the party together and project a more positive imageFor example, our research showed that most Americans didn’t know that Hillary and I had a child, and thought I had grown up in wealth and privilege. Conventions are heady affairs for the nominee. Thisgood and true. In New Hampshire and afterward, with all the character attacks, I had to fighto keep my temper in check and minimize my tendency to whine when exhausted. Now I hato rein in my ego and remember not to get carried away by all the praise and positive pressendorsed me earlier. china oil paintingNow Bob Kerrey, Paul Tsongas, and Doug Wilder made supportive comments. So did Jesse Jackson. Only Jerry Brown held out. Harkin, who had become one of my favorite politicians, said Jerry was on an ego trip. There was also a minor flap wheBrown refused to let Governor Bob Casey speak to the convention, not because he wantedspeak against abortion but because he wouldn’t agree to endorse me. I was inclined toCasey talk, because I liked him, respected the convictions of pro-life Democrats, and thoughtwe could get a lot of them to vote for us on other issues and on my pledge to make abortionhandmade oil paintings “safe, legal, and rare.” But Ron was adamant. We could disagree on the issues, he said, but noone should get the microphone who wasn’t committed to victory in November. I respected thediscipline with which he had rebuilt our party, and I deferred to his judgment.Senate. Hillary and Tipper also made brief appearances. Then came the keynote speeches bySenator Bill Bradley, oil painting reproductionsCongresswoman Barbara Jordan, and Governor Zell Miller. Bradley and Jordan were more famous and gave good talks, but Miller brought the audience to tears with this story: My father, who was a teacher, died when I was two weeks old, leaving a young widow wittwo small children. But with my mother’s faith in God—and Mr. Roosevelt’s voice on the radio—we kept going. After my father’s death, my mother with her own hands cleared a small piece of rugged land. Every day she waded into a neighbor’s cold mountain creek, carrying out thousands of smooth stones to build a house. I grew up watching my mother complete thahouse from the rocks she’d lifted from the creek and cement she m