WASHINGTON — In the White House, one of Hillary Rodham Clinton's favorite paintings depicts an enigmatic beauty gazing through a gauzy veil. As art historian Johanna Branson--Hillary Clinton's college roommate--recently observed, the woman in John Singer Sargent's "The Mosquito Net" and the first lady have much in common.
Like the first lady, Branson explained, the woman in the painting can see the world clearly. But the veil makes it harder for the world to see in.
These days, the very private Hillary Clinton is gazing head-on at the future. Her friends and political allies see grand and endless possibilities. But what they do not know is what she sees for her life after the White House. She will be 53, young by some standards but no doubt aged by hard years in Washington.
Will she emerge for this next chapter in her life as the candidate herself, rather than the woman at the candidate's side? Or will she blaze a new trail as the former first lady who transforms that role too in the course of pursuing her agenda for women and children?
"I don't think she knows yet what she'll do," says a close friend. "But I know how she works, and I bet she's making a long, long list."
"The world is her oyster," says Rahm Emanuel, a former White House aide. "Hillary's great problem is to figure out what to do. She can run a prestigious university, lead a great foundation, create her own foundation, write a book or many books, make money. . . . "
Pros and Cons of Senate Bid
In fact, she has more options than her husband, who faces limits unique to former presidents.
Apparently, Hillary Clinton has warmed to her most talked about option: running for senator from New York in 2000. She recently told a political ally there that she would decide about running after her husband's impeachment trial is over. "Much to my surprise, she's thinking about it, seriously thinking about it," says this ally, who predicts she'll make a decision in the next few weeks.
Her friends are the first to list why she shouldn't run. She's too thin-skinned and intensely private to endure the scrutiny of the New York media, particularly when the campaign gets mean, says one. Why should she campaign in Buffalo when she could be traveling the world and earning enormous lecture fees, suggests another. And worst of all, an election defeat might be seen as a final repudiation by her enemies, yet another adds.
