She and her mother had a few panic-stricken minutes, the first lady said, before the baby of the family turned up hiding under a bush. During her 20-minute ride on the press bus, the first lady offered insights into her personality. We now expect people in the public arena to somehow do that. I think that's kind of unfortunate. I don't understand the need for that.
Aides are loath to risk seeming disloyal by letting even the most innocent anecdotes slip.
Even so, Clinton has come a long way since 1998. I'll come right back. She was not seen again until reporters were summoned to have a souvenir photograph taken with her. Now, Clinton dutifully gives interviews at almost every campaign stop to local newspaper, TV and radio reporters, and she periodically holds news conferences with the traveling reporters. However, she often stays in different hotels from her traveling press corps and avoids the kind of spontaneous chitchat that takes place between journalists and candidates on most campaigns.