Love, Death and Politics

Hugh Aynesworth, Dallas, Texas: Not a question...but....want to congratulate Eleanor on her many years of journalistic achievement. Heard her last week on NPR, with Diane Reim, and it was such a fine tribute.....substantive, heart-warming, informative. I was a bureau chief at Newsweek (Houston) when Eleanor was the "girl Friday" in the Atlanta Bureau and she was a smart, efficient and loveable gal then...and am sure she still is. Thank God for her level-headed stance on the Sunday morning shout-along show. A true professional..Newsweek should be VERY proud.

Eleanor Clift: Hi Hugh -- I remember you well, and have followed your journalistic achievements over the years. I was indeed the "girl Friday" in the Atlanta bureau of Newsweek, which is where I learned how to be a reporter. Joe Cumming was my mentor, and he -- like you -- comes from the tradition of great Southern story-telling. All the best, Eleanor

Riverdale, NY: Eleanor, I enjoy watching you on the McLaughlin Report and admire your restraint not to punch him in the face sometimes! I laughed at your part of the book how Tom helped you prepare for that. How do you feel about Hillary and the recent snags she's hitting on recollections and her claims of foreign policy experience?
I wonder what Tom would advise me to say about Hillary. He'd probably remind me that she is after all a politician, and politicians are given to exaggeration. I think she'd be better off basing her claims of foreign policy experience on what she's done in the Senate as opposed to inflating her First Lady duties.

Warrensburg, MO: Ms. Clift, so sorry to read about your loss. Did you find writing to book to be helpful for you in adjusting to the loss of your husband? Was it a difficult process?
Writing the book was cathartic. It's kept me busy for the last two and a half years, and it helped me to order my thoughts and my life after my expectations had been so radically altered. Talking about the book is another matter. I wish I could just slip it in people's mail slots. There are emotional trigger points that I'm learning to avoid. CSPAN captured me at the national press club last week during a moment when I lost my composure. I'm told it will be part of Book TV on April 13 and 14. There were members of the A-Team in the audience -- Tom's former colleagues who helped care for him -- and that put me over the edge.

Shreveport Louisiana: How would we go about getting you as a speaker for our grief support group? Hospicegirl
I have a web site that accepts requests -- eleanorclift.com

Newark, NJ: How did the politicization of end of life issues affect your experience with your husband?
Tom was clear about what he wanted, so I didn't have any conflicts about how we proceeded. Watching the debate over Terri Schiavo unfold, I instinctively sided with the courts in believing they had ruled correctly in allowing her feeding tube to be removed after she had been in a vegetative state for 15 years. But I can understand how her family felt in wanting to prolong her life, however compromised she was. After Tom died, people would ask me if I was relieved -- and the answer was no. Caring for him had become my life and I did it for only a short time. I do think it was unfortunate that the Schiavo case became a pawn in the larger cultural battle over life issues.