For Clinton, Even Presidential Politics Is Local

The grants and federal assistance that Clinton helped to obtain for New York started with a trickle in 2001. But they add up to more than $1 billion over six years, according to her staff's records. That's not counting the $20 billion that Clinton, Schumer and other lawmakers brought in for New York City's recovery efforts after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"I've been impressed, and I work hard in New York," Schumer said.

Ross K. Baker, a political scientist at Rutgers University and a student of Congress, said: "Very few senators approach the United States Senate with a plan the way Senator Clinton seems to have. Her career has really been a study in method."

But there is a potential downside, Baker and other observers say. Clinton delivers major speeches from time to time, including recent addresses on Iraq and alternative energy, and she is widely praised for her Sept. 11-related work, a major focus of legislators from New York and New Jersey. But her tenure speaks more to her work habits than to the ambitious vision many voters tend to look for in a presidential hopeful.

"It takes a person of unusual political talent to do well as a senator and at the same time translate yourself into a presidential candidate," Baker said. "We're only watching that unfold right now."

Clinton has carved out an unusual niche in her six years on Capitol Hill: Senator Pothole with a celebrity twist. Too new to sit on the Appropriations Committee, the traditional pipeline to pork, Clinton compensates by taking advantage of her high profile and a deep Rolodex to dole out favors like a ward boss -- even as she launches a White House campaign.

She'll enlist just about anyone. When Lockheed Martin was bidding to bring the Marine One helicopter contract to Owego, N.Y., Clinton asked British Prime Minister Tony Blair to press the case with President Bush. To help Adirondack artisans sell their wares on the Internet, she called in eBay's chief executive, Meg Whitman.

To chair New Jobs for New York, a charitable organization that Clinton created to lure companies upstate, she tapped Roger Altman, a Clinton administration official who is now a New York investment banker.

After Clinton was reelected in November by a 2 to 1 margin, the clock started ticking on her presidential announcement. But first, Schenectady Mayor Brian Stratton needed help: Bechtel Plant Machinery, a prominent local employer, had announced it was relocating to Pittsburgh.

On Nov. 15, Clinton called Stratton, Schumer and Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.) to her Senate office for a meeting with Bechtel officials. Stratton described Clinton as "totally enraged and totally engaged" and said she demanded to see the data that had informed Bechtel's decision.

Schumer reminded the executives that Bechtel relied heavily on federal contracts, that Democrats were now the majority party, and that Clinton was a member of the Armed Services Committee. Her presumed front-runner status for the 2008 Democratic nomination was never mentioned, Schumer said. But he described it as "the 800-pound gorilla in the room."

Two weeks later, Bechtel announced it was suspending the move. Relocating remained the better option, Bechtel executive T.F. Hash wrote to the senators. But he added: "I am, however, mindful of the difficulties this decision has placed on our employees and the community."

The company decided that 130 jobs would stay in Schenectady, with 30 workers being reassigned to a nearby facility and 70 jobs moving to Pittsburgh. When Clinton declared her candidacy on Jan. 20, Stratton issued a three-page endorsement.

In February, Upstate investor Dennis Bunnell was attempting to restart a Newton Falls paper mill that had been idle for seven years when he ran into a regulatory glitch with the Environmental Protection Agency. A potentially lengthy review of the factory's boilers threatened to delay the hiring of 100 workers in the rural community, located on the remote western edge of Adirondack Park.

Bunnell contacted Clinton's office, and the senator placed two calls to the local EPA office. On March 13, regional administrator Alan Steinberg announced that the review would not be necessary. Bunnell expects production to start this summer. "I'm assuming she's demonstrated the same attention to detail to other projects," he said.