This Is A Generation Weaned On Watergate,

1992 Became Known As The 'year Of The Woman' Because So Many Of Us Were Elected To Public Office That November, Including A Record Six To The United States Senate.

Campaigns Often Make Standing On Principle The Highest Of Virtues - And Listening To Your Opponents A Sure Sign Of Weakness. It's The Virtual Opposite Of What It Takes To Succeed In Office. Squaring The Circle Takes A Powerful Combination Of Skills. But Presidents Who Can Campaign And Compromise Are Generally The Most Successful.

This Is A Generation Weaned On Watergate, And There Is No Presumption Of Innocence And No Presumption Of Good Intentions. Instead, There Is A Presumption That, Without Relentless Scrutiny, The Government Will Misbehave.

When I First Started Working In Politics, As A Junior Aide On Walter Mondale's 1984 Presidential Campaign, It Never Occurred To Me That I Would One Day Work In The White House. There Were Plenty Of Women Among The Volunteers Who Stuffed Envelopes And Walked Precincts. But There Were Fewer And Fewer On Each Successive Level Of Influence And Access.

Part Of Obama's Persona Is Self-reliance. He's Calm; He's Cool; He's Self-possessed. In Many Ways, He Has Tried To Define Himself In Opposition To Clinton's Sometimes Needy, Often Undisciplined, Emotionalism.