--- title: Hillary Clinton: First 2016 Television Ad Focuses on Empathy, Mother description: Hillary Clinton's campaign will air the first two television ads of the Democratic primary race on Tuesday, as part of an effort to head off... canonical: https://time.com/3981638/hillary-clinton-ads-mother-dorothy/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-03T02:48:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:27.361Z article:section: Politics og:title: Hillary Clinton: First 2016 Television Ad Focuses on Empathy, Mother og:description: Hillary Clinton's campaign will air the first two television ads of the Democratic primary race on Tuesday, as part of an effort to head off... og:url: https://time.com/3981638/hillary-clinton-ads-mother-dorothy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f52d6b97a976696/69885c61e20a871d14a8c6ea/hillary-clinton10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4964 og:image:height: 2792 og:image:alt: Hillary Rodham Clinton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hillary Clinton: First 2016 Television Ad Focuses on Empathy, Mother twitter:description: Hillary Clinton's campaign will air the first two television ads of the Democratic primary race on Tuesday, as part of an effort to head off... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0f52d6b97a976696/69885c61e20a871d14a8c6ea/hillary-clinton10.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 01:49 video:published: 2015-04-09 section: politics topics: Hillary Clinton, political career, health care, women's rights, human rights, glass ceiling, Al Qaeda, work-related emails, conspiracy claims, Benghazi genre: compilation, political speech tones: defiant, assertive, earnest, combative emotions: determination (high), frustration (medium), pride (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: political news followers, voters, students of American politics, general news audiences people: Hillary Clinton, Tammy Wynette, Ray organizations: State Department, Al Qaeda content_suitability: politics [00:00-01:49]; violence [01:19-01:27]; death [01:19-01:27]; war [01:19-01:27] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Hillary Clinton Praises Mother In First TV Ads of 2016 > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=1b007b58-76ad-4fff-b0a8-3bea83fece85&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/L3I0gpwt.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2015-04-09. Watch the top 10 moments from Hillary Clinton's career in politics._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video presents a compilation of clips from Hillary Clinton's political career, drawn from her remarks at different moments. Excerpts touch on her 1992 response to questions about her husband, health care reform, women's rights, a rivalry-era exchange with a reporter, the fight against Al Qaeda, the Benghazi attack, and her decision to make her work-related emails public. The clips are presented without additional narration or context beyond the spoken lines. ## Key points - Clinton says she is sitting there because she loves and respects her husband, rejecting the image of a woman standing by her man like Tammy Wynette. (00:00) - Clinton says now is the chance to beat historical odds and give the American people the health security they need. (00:09) - Clinton states that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights. (00:24) - Clinton describes a vast right-wing conspiracy conspiring against her husband since the day he announced for president. (00:36) - Clinton says that although the highest, hardest glass ceiling was not shattered this time, it has about 18 million cracks in it. (01:01) - Clinton says the battle to stop Al Qaeda and its affiliates does not end with one death. (01:19) - Clinton says it is the job to figure out what happened and do everything possible to prevent it from happening again. (01:27) - Clinton says she took the unprecedented step of asking the State Department to make all her work-related emails public. (01:36) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:24] Remarks on marriage and health care. Clinton speaks about standing by her husband and the push for health security. - [00:24 to 00:36] Women's rights as human rights. Clinton declares that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights. - [00:36 to 01:01] Exchange on conspiracy and signed letters. Clinton addresses a claimed conspiracy against her husband and an exchange about signing a document. - [01:01 to 01:19] Glass ceiling remarks. Clinton reflects on the 2008 campaign and the glass ceiling, saying it has about 18 million cracks. - [01:19 to 01:27] Fighting Al Qaeda and Benghazi response. Clinton discusses the battle against Al Qaeda and the need to learn what happened in an attack. - [01:27 to 01:36] Accountability for attack response. Clinton says it is her job to determine what happened and prevent it from recurring. - [01:36 to 01:49] Release of work emails. Clinton says she asked the State Department to make her work-related emails public. ## Key quotes - [00:00] Hillary Clinton: "I'm sittin' here because I love him, and I respect him." - [00:24] Hillary Clinton: "human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights once and for all." - [00:36] Hillary Clinton: "this vast right- wing conspiracy that has been conspiring. Against my husband since the day he announced for president." - [01:01] Hillary Clinton: "it's got about 18 million cracks in it." - [01:19] Hillary Clinton: "The battle to stop Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Does not end with one death." - [01:36] Hillary Clinton: "I took the unprecedented step of asking that the state department make all my work- related emails," ## Questions this video answers - Why does Clinton say she is standing by her husband? [00:00] - What does Clinton say about health care? [00:09] - What does Clinton say about women's rights and human rights? [00:24] - What does Clinton say about the glass ceiling? [01:01] - How does Clinton describe the fight against Al Qaeda? [01:19] - What step did Clinton say she took regarding her work emails? [01:36] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-01:49]: Entire video consists of political remarks and references to political controversies. - violence [01:19-01:27]: Reference to Al Qaeda and a death in an attack. - death [01:19-01:27]: Mention that the fight against Al Qaeda does not end with one death. - war [01:19-01:27]: Discussion of the battle against Al Qaeda and its affiliates. by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 3, 2015 2:48 AM UTC  In this July 23, 2015 photo Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a campaign event in Columbia, S.C. In this July 23, 2015 photo Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at a campaign event in Columbia, S.C. Stephen B. Morton—AP by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Aug 3, 2015 2:48 AM UTC Hillary Clinton’s campaign will air the first two television ads of the Democratic primary race on Tuesday, as part of an effort to head off Republican attacks and present Clinton as a “tenacious fighter” for everyday Americans. In a five-week ad buy worth $1 million each in Iowa and New Hampshire, Clinton will share her personal story, explaining how she drew inspiration mother’s life, and discuss her work in and out of government on behalf of children. The two advertisements, which appear geared to building Clinton’s reputation as a politician who cares about regular voters, will air in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s biggest media markets, and statewide in New Hampshire. “When I think about why I’m doing this I think about my mother Dorothy. She was abandoned by her parents at the age of eight, sent from Chicago to LA to live with grandparents who didn’t want her,” Clinton says in the first advertisement. “But people showed her kindness, gave her a chance.” Accompanied by footage of mothers and their children, Clinton says say, “That’s why I’m doing this. That’s why I’ve always done this. For all the Dorothys.” The second advertisement focuses on Clinton’s time after college, when she worked for the Children’s Defense Fund, a kids’ advocacy group, and then touts her work on school reform and health care. The ad then turns to Clinton’s time as senator from New York, when she “made sure the heroes and families of 9/11 got the care they needed,” according to a voiceover. The ad buys fit in with a larger theme the campaign has sought to broadcast since she announced: that Clinton has long been a strong advocate for children and Americans, a trait she learned from her own mother’s difficult childhood. The Clinton campaign had long planned to air television ads sometime in the late summer, a campaign official said. Republicans are amassing cash for large ad buys in the four early states, and Clinton’s campaign anticipates that much of it is intended to attack Clinton. Clinton’s spots aim to define the Democratic frontrunner with a positive biographical message. “We’re going to make sure everyone knows who Hillary Clinton really is — who she fights for and what has motivated her lifelong commitment to children and families,” campaign manager Robby Mook said in a statement. “Since Day One, we’ve planned for a competitive primary with Hillary herself working to earn every vote and, ultimately, the nomination. This is the natural next step.” According to a nationwide Quinnipiac poll released at the end of July, 52% of Americans believe Clinton does not care about their needs. Clinton’s campaign hopes that when voters know the Democratic frontrunner’s personal story, much of which was deemphasized during her last run for president, her poll numbers will improve. The campaign filmed the footage of Clinton speaking to the camera about her mother in the first advertisement in June, as part of a plan to show Clinton’s record. Sen. Bernie Sanders, Clinton’s challenger for the Democratic nomination, has gained momentum in Iowa and New Hampshire but is still at least 10 points behind her in polls. ## Transcript [00:00] You know, I'm not [00:04] sittin' here some little woman standing here by my man [00:06] like Tammy Wynette. I'm sittin' here because I love [00:09] him, and I respect him. Now is our chance [00:13] to beat the historical odds, and give the American [00:16] people the health security they need. If there is one [00:19] message that echoes forth from this. Let [00:24] it be that human rights are women's rights and [00:28] women's rights are human rights once and for all. [00:33] The great story here for anybody willing to find it and [00:36] write about it and explain it is this vast right- wing [00:40] conspiracy that has been conspiring. Against my [00:43] husband since the day he announced for president. I [00:45] would be happy to, when you give me the signed [00:47] letters. Well, right here. Right here. When you give me. [00:49] Right here. Sign it right now. We'll shake. We'll shake [00:50] on this, Ray. No, no, I want your signature, cause I [00:53] think that everybody wants to see you signing [00:55] something that you said you were for. You know, I have [00:58] so many opportunities from this country. I just don't [01:01] wanna see us fall backwards. Although we weren't able [01:03] to shatter that [01:08] highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, [01:12] it's got about 18 million cracks in it. The [01:19] battle to stop Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Does [01:23] not end with one death. What difference, at [01:27] this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what [01:31] happened and do everything we can to prevent it from [01:34] ever happening again, Senator. I took the [01:36] unprecedented step of asking that the state [01:39] department make all my work- related emails, [01:43] [ MUSIC ] Public for everyone to see. 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