WASHINGTON — Former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s handlers were so desperate to “humanize” their boss’ wooden image that they encouraged her to appear on the cheesy ’90s sitcom “Home Improvement,” according to newly revealed documents.
The TV remodeling plan was one of just many efforts cooked up by Clinton’s image-making machine during her husband’s presidency, as she laid the groundwork for what would become her own political career.
The idea was pitched by Hillary Clinton aide Lisa Caputo to chief of staff Maggie Williams, documents released Friday from the Bill Clinton Presidential Library show.
“I know this may sound like a wild idea, but I think it is an interesting one to discuss,” Caputo wrote. She then gushed about the merits of a cameo on the top-rated show, which starred actor Tim Allen, noting that the producers were willing to do a show on women and children or whatever issues Hillary would like” and that it would “present Hillary in a very likable light.”
But Caputo hedged: “It is probably worth weighing it against what we believe we might be able to gain by such an appearance politically and image-wise.”
She noted that Clinton pal TV exec Rick Kaplan was “100 percent in favor of Hillary pursuing this project.”
The desperate effort foreshadowed by decades ongoing efforts to soften Clinton’s image through town-hall meetings, confessional interviews and a lighthearted Twitter account.
Other image gurus pitched softball magazine shoots of party photos while coaching Clinton to be “real.”
One 1995 memo — part of a 4,000-page dump — even encouraged staffers to recycle cornball anecdotes about how Clinton liked children.
A 1999 memo from consultant Mandy Grunwald, in advance of Clinton’s trip upstate, advised the future New York senator: “No matter what the question, use your answer to get back to our message.”
Her longtime adviser further coached: “Be careful to ‘be real.’”
The Clinton camp kept the documents out of view for years, but the White House and Bill Clinton’s office finally signed off on their release this winter.
One piece of advice to Clinton from 1995 sounds particularly dated. “Internet has become a very popular form of communication. Hillary could speak to young women through Internet.”