Chelsea Clinton - White House Years

White House Years

Twelve-year-old Chelsea was given the Secret Service codename "Energy" when she moved into the White House with her parents on January 20, 1993, the day of her father's first inauguration. The Clintons wanted their daughter to grow up as normally as possible given their circumstances, and, to that end, hoped to shield her from the media spotlight. Hillary followed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis' advice on raising children in the White House, and asked the press to limit coverage of Chelsea to her participation in public events such as state visits. The Clintons were supported by Margaret Truman who wrote a Letter to the Editor of The New York Times in March 1993 about the damage that could be done if the press made Chelsea a subject of intense coverage. The press complied, but, in 1997, following Chelsea's high school graduation, media speculation regarding her choice of college resulted in heavy press coverage. Chelsea ultimately chose to attend Stanford University. In sum, Chelsea received 32 stories in The New York Times and 87 network news stories during her father's two terms of office (1993–2001). Of all presidential children, Chelsea has received the most television coverage.

The Clintons' decision to send Chelsea to Sidwell Friends, a private school in Washington, D.C., provoked questions, but her father told the Associated Press in May 1993 that the decision had been made because Chelsea did not like "getting a lot of publicity" and would have "more control over her destiny." Her mother argued that "if were to go to a public school, the press would never leave her alone." The criterion affecting their decision was privacy, not quality of education. The school and its students remained silent regarding Chelsea, declining to discuss her publicly and thereby giving her the privacy the First Family sought for her. Chelsea graduated from Sidwell in 1997; her father spoke at the graduation ceremony.

The matter of Chelsea's privacy was debated in the press, and most media outlets concluded that she should be off-limits due to her age. But when Clinton was 13 her appearance became a matter of ridicule for some satirists and commentators, including comments by Rush Limbaugh and the comedy writers of Saturday Night Live. In 1995, freelance writer Tom Gogola released a tape of songs purportedly recorded by Clinton which commented upon notable people and included lyrics like "let's inhale," the tape proved to be a hoax. Gogola defended the tape, saying "None of it had to do with being mean to Chelsea. Satire is satire." During this phase of Chelsea's life, her father said, "We really work hard on making sure that Chelsea doesn't let other people define her sense of her own self worth... It's tough when you are an adolescent... ut I think she'll be OK."

Though her father is a Southern Baptist, Chelsea was raised in her mother's Methodist faith. She attended Foundry United Methodist Church on 16th Street, NW in Washington and met with other teens on Sunday mornings to examine questions of faith and philosophy, and teen concerns such as dating, parents, and friendship. Her parents joined her at the church's parent-teen round tables. An adult group leader thought Chelsea "a terrific kid" and observed she was treated as an equal in the group. Away from church, Chelsea's social activities included visits to a Planet Hollywood restaurant with friends and sleep-overs in and out of the White House. President Clinton sometimes joined Chelsea and her sleep-over friends for breakfast.

Clinton began dance classes at four years of age in Arkansas, and was a student at the Washington School of Ballet for several years. She was cast in the role of the Favorite Aunt (1993) in the Washington Ballet production of Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker.

Clinton was a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist in 1997, and is a veteran of the Model United Nations.

In early 1999, the Clintons learned of an article in the works at People that examined the First Family's relationships in the wake of the scandals and impending vote on President Clinton's impeachment. Notified about the article by the First Lady's office, the Secret Service contacted the magazine with their own concerns that the story could complicate Chelsea's security. The decision had been made to run the story however, and Bill and Hillary issued a statement expressing their regret and sadness. Carol Wallace, People managing editor, affirmed the magazine's sensitivity to the Clinton concerns about their daughter, but felt 19-year-old Chelsea was "an eyewitness to family drama and historical events" and thus "a valid journalistic subject". The article, entitled "Grace Under Fire", was published on February 5, 1999 with a cover photo depicting Chelsea and Hillary.

In 2000, the last year of her father's presidency, Chelsea assumed some White House hostess responsibilities when her mother was campaigning for the U.S. Senate, traveling with her father on several overseas trips and attending state dinners with him.