Home
Politics
Hillary Clinton's 1995 Media Strategy Shows Just How Young The Internet Was

Hillary Clinton's 1995 Media Strategy Shows Just How Young The Internet Was

Brett LoGiurato

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library

The Clinton Presidential Library released thousands of pages of previously withheld documents from the presidency of Bill Clinton on Friday.

One of the documents casts a glimpse into First Lady Hillary Clinton's media strategy circa 1995. It is a memo from Maggie Williams, Hillary Clinton's former chief of staff, to senior adviser Lisa Caputo, outlining potential methods of promoting the First Lady through various forms of media.

Some of the highlights:

The newly released documents display just how new "the Internet" was at that time, as evidenced by Caputo's suggestion that "Hillary could speak to young women through Internet." She added, "I think Hillary would have fun with this, and I believe it would not be too difficult to organize."
Caputo thought another method of promotion could be a Hillary Clinton cameo on Tim Allen's sitcom "Home Improvement." "I know this may sound like a wild idea, but I think it is an interesting one to discuss," the memo reads. "'Home Improvement' would very much like to have Hillary make a guest appearance on its show. 'Home Improvement' is the most popular television show on the air. They are willing to do a show on women, children and family issues or a show on whatever issues Hillary would like. The outreach would be enormous and it would present Hillary in a very likeable light I believe."
The memo advocates off-the-record dinners with "opinion makers" in New York - "not the mainstream New York media, but rather those people whom the New York Times respects intellectually."
A "Hillary Clinton fan club visit" was also suggested. "At the end of September, over 100 coordinators of the Hillary Clinton Fan Club from the U.S., Japan and England will spend a day at the White House, starting with a tour, then a briefing and ending with a reception." The memo suggested setting up members of the fan club for interviews with The Associated Press and other local publications.