The meaning of Hillary, and the long, hard climb to the top of the ticket

Hillary Clinton has been part of our national consciousness for so long that it is easy to forget how far she has pushed the edges.

It is not just that she has made history by becoming the first woman to claim the presidential nomination of a major party. Hillary — known on a first-name basis, both by her fervent supporters and by those who despise her — has been the avatar of a different way of thinking about women and what they can do.

Hers was an earnest generation of feminists who decided that nothing was beyond them. They could choose their careers, build unshakable marriages and raise nearly perfect children. They could go out and change the world, yet still be there for their friends.

A younger Hillary once said: “There is no formula that I’m aware of for being a successful or fulfilled woman today. Perhaps it would be easier . . . if we could be handed a pattern and cut it out, just as our mothers and grandmothers and foremothers were. But that is not the way it is today, and I’m glad it is not.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/the-meaning-of-hillary-the-presumptive-2016-democratic-presidential-nominee/2016/06/06/1b99bb5c-2b2a-11e6-9b37-42985f6a265c_story.html