They're powerful. They're famous. They're smart. They're rich. The Clintons have every right to be proud of themselves and, according to the public record, they are.
CHELSEA CLINTON IS PROUD OF HILLARY CLINTON
"I am so proud of my mom. I really do grow more proud every day." --Chelsea Clinton, in Akron, Ohio, March 1, 2008
"Every day, when people tell me they're voting for my mom, putting their faith in her, using their voice to encourage others to support her and working hard for her, I grow more proud." --Chelsea Clinton, in an e-mail to Democrats, January 2008
"I am here to talk--really answer questions--about my mom. I am more proud of her than anyone I've ever known or met or imagined." --Chelsea Clinton, in Oakland, California, February 2, 2008
BILL CLINTON IS PROUD OF HILLARY CLINTON FOR BECOMING HIS WIFE, IN 1975, ...
"All I knew was that I loved Hillary.... I was proud of her, too, and thrilled to be in a relationship that might not be perfect, but would certainly never be boring." --Bill Clinton, in My Life, June 2004
AND FOR SERVING AS HIS FIRST LADY ...
"I am especially proud of Hillary's efforts to encourage and support women's groups to increase their political and economic impact through the Vital Voices initiative." --Bill Clinton, writing in the Irish Times, April 3, 2008
AND FOR WINNING HER FIRST SENATE RACE ...
"Hillary won her election, 55-43 percent, a much larger margin than she had in all the pre-election polls, but one. I was so proud of her." --Bill Clinton, in My Life, June 2004
AND FOR TURNING 60 ...
"We love you, and I'm so proud of you," --Bill Clinton, introducing Hillary Clinton at her birthday party/fund-raiser at the Beacon Theater, New York, New York, October 25, 2007
AND FOR RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT ...
"This is one of the proudest moments of my life." --Bill Clinton, speaking to reporters at the New York primary polls in Chappaqua, New York, February 6, 2008
AND FOR LOSING THE IOWA CAUCUS ...
"I was never more proud of Hillary in all the days we've been together and all the days of this campaign than when she gave that speech in Iowa." --Bill Clinton, in New Hampshire, January 5, 2008
AND HILLARY CLINTON IS PROUD THAT BILL CLINTON AND CHELSEA CLINTON ARE PROUD OF HER
"I'm very proud of his promoting my candidacy and I'm very happy that he is able to travel as widely as he has been, along with my daughter." --Hillary Clinton, in Little Rock, Arkansas, January 30, 2008
"And I do a lot of what I think is important because of the inspiration and support I get from my daughter, who I am so proud of." --Hillary Clinton, at the Beacon Theater, New York, New York, October 25, 2008
MEANWHILE, NO ONE IS MORE PROUD OF HILLARY CLINTON THAN HILLARY CLINTON
"I feel very proud of the inspiration that I am. People tell me all the time that I'm a role model, I'm their hero, and I'm very proud of that." --Hillary Clinton, in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 10, 2008
SOMETIMES HILLARY CLINTON IS PROUD OF THINGS WHICH TAKE NO EFFORT ...
"I am proud to be running as a woman." --Hillary Clinton, in Charleston, South Carolina, July 23, 2007
"I am proud to be a Democrat." --Hillary Clinton, in Milford, New Hampshire, January 4, 2008
AND SOMETIMES SHE IS PROUD OF THINGS WHERE THE EFFORT FELL FLAT
"I am especially proud to have the support of so many Democratic leaders from the so-called red states to know that I can win." --Hillary Clinton, in Des Moines, Iowa, November 10, 2007. (Barack Obama has won twice as many so-called red states.)
"I'm very proud to have the first Latina serving as my Campaign Manager." --Hillary Clinton, quoted in the blog Hispanic Trending, October 1, 2007. (Patti Solis Doyle, the daughter of immigrants from Mexico, stepped down from that post on February 10, 2008.)
"We need your voices and you have a right to your vote. I am proud to stand with the people of Michigan in this cause." --Hillary Clinton, advocating a rerun of the Michigan Democratic primary contest, Detroit, March 19, 2008. (About two weeks later, plans for such a rerun were scrapped.)
SOMETIMES SHE DISTANCES HERSELF FROM THINGS SHE IS PROUD OF ...
"And I want to be judged on my own merits. I don't want to be advantaged or disadvantaged. I'm very proud of my husband's administration. I think that there were a lot of good things that happened." --Hillary Clinton, in Los Angeles, California, January 31, 2008
AND SOMETIMES IT'S UNCLEAR IF SHE EVEN KNOWS WHAT THE WORD "PROUD" MEANS
"I'm very proud and humbled to be in this position, competing for our party's nomination." --Hillary Clinton, on Face the Nation, January 27, 2008
BUT IF THERE'S ONE THING ALL THE CLINTONS SHARE, IT'S THE ABILITY TO TAKE PRIDE EVEN IN DISGRACE
WHAT ABOUT WHITEWATER?
"In April, Hillary held a press conference to answer questions about her commodity trades and Whitewater. She did a fine job and I was proud of her." --Bill Clinton, in My Life, June 2004
WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S FAILED HEALTH-CARE INITIATIVE?
"I'm proud she's learned lessons from when it didn't work." --Chelsea Clinton, in Kent, Ohio, February 26, 2008
WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S 28-POINT LOSS TO BARACK OBAMA IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY?
"I'm very proud to have competed in South Carolina." --Hillary Clinton, in Nashville, Tennessee, January 26, 2008
WHAT ABOUT BILL CLINTON'S EMBARRASSING COMPARISON OF BARACK OBAMA TO JESSE JACKSON AFTER THE SOUTH CAROLINA PRIMARY?
"I think that, you know, the spouses of all three of us have, you know, been passionate and vigorous defenders of each of us and, you know, maybe got a little carried away.... But, you know, I am very, very proud of my husband's record as a leader in our country going back so many years." --Hillary Clinton, on Face the Nation, January 27, 2008
WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S VOTE FOR THE IRAQ-WAR RESOLUTION, IN OCTOBER 2002?
"My mother said she would end the war yesterday, if she could, and I'm proud that my mom was the first senator, not the first person running for president, but the first senator to actually ask the White House and the Pentagon what its plans were to end the war." --Chelsea Clinton, in Bloomington, Indiana, March 24, 2008
WHAT ABOUT BILL CLINTON'S FAILURE TO INTERVENE IN THE RWANDA GENOCIDE?
"I'm proud that my father has apologized to the Rwandan people and I know that that is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life." --Chelsea Clinton, in Bristol, Rhode Island, February 29, 2008
WHAT ABOUT HILLARY CLINTON'S EARMARKS?
"I'm very proud of my earmarks. It's one of the reasons I won 67 percent of the vote, because I took care of my people. But I also know there have been a lot of abuses." --Hillary Clinton, quoted in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, March 25, 2008
WHAT ABOUT THE WOMAN IN THE AUDIENCE WHO INSISTS IT'S "UNETHICAL" FOR CHELSEA CLINTON TO SOLICIT SUPER DELEGATES?
"I disagree. I'm so proud of my mom.... I hope that your daughter's as proud of you--or your children are as proud of you--as I'm proud of my mom." --Chelsea Clinton, in Madison, Wisconsin, February 11, 2008
WHAT ABOUT THE MARITAL FALLOUT AFTER BILL CLINTON ADMITTED TO AN "IMPROPER PHYSICAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH MONICA LEWINSKY?
"What I want to say about this is I'm not only not ashamed of having done this counseling, I'm very proud of it." --Bill Clinton, interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, August 19, 2004
AND ON THAT SAME TOPIC, COULD HILLARY CLINTON FIND HER WAY BACK TO "PROUD"?
"Well, you know, Marcia, I've answered that question [why she stayed with her husband] and I've addressed it in various forums. For my entire life, I have worked to make sure women had the choices they could make in their own lives that were right for them. I've made my choices. I'm here with my daughter, of whom I'm very proud." --Hillary Clinton, in a debate during her New York senatorial campaign, October 9, 2000
AND WHAT ABOUT BILL CLINTON'S IMPEACHMENT TRIAL?
"Although I would always regret what I had done wrong, I will go to my grave being proud of what I had fought for in the impeachment battle." --Bill Clinton, in My Life, June 2004
AND, FINALLY, THE LAST WORD ON THE PROUD, PROUD CLINTON FAMILY GOES TO ...
"Sometimes I'm proud of him still, and sometimes I hate his guts. And, um, he makes me sick." --Monica Lewinsky, to Barbara Walters, in answer to the question, "Are you still in love with Bill Clinton?," ABC News, March 4, 1999
All quotes taken from transcripts, articles, videos, or books found online.
This post was originally published at vanityfair.com, where Scovell writes regularly