Been There, Done That

Much has been made of the imagined conversation that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton had not long ago with Eleanor Roosevelt, who died in 1962. While imagining what one might say to a famous person, a boss, a dead relative or a prospective date is hardly a New Age phenomenon, fascinating possibilities can be found in what Mrs. Roosevelt might tell Mrs. Clinton.

We can guess at that conversation because of what the first lady of the 1930s and ‘40s actually said on a variety of topics. Many of her views are on record, and that will just have to do unless a transcript of the chat surfaces. Herewith, a sampling of the wisdom that might have been imparted once again by Mrs. Roosevelt.

On words to live by: “Everybody wants something.”

On women: “Too often, the great decisions are originated and given form in bodies made up wholly of men, or so completely dominated by them that whatever of special value women have to offer is shunted aside without expression.”

On inner strength: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

On personal behavior: “I always looked at everything from the point of view of what I ought to do, rarely from what I wanted to do.”

On handling adversity: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ ”

On the president: “I used to tell my husband [Franklin] that, if he could make me understand something, it would be clear to all the other people in the country.”

On campaigning: “Do as little talking as humanly possible. Remember to lean back in the parade car so everybody can see the president.”

What did Mrs. Clinton learn from her encounter with Mrs. Roosevelt? The White House says the imaginary conversation was not some spiritual ritual but rather an “intellectual exercise.” The purpose: to help Mrs. Clinton deal with the difficulties she has faced in the White House. If the role-playing exercise was beneficial to Mrs. Clinton, that’s fine with us. And Mrs. Clinton herself is taking it all in stride, joking about what she got from the exchange.

As Mrs. Roosevelt once said: “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Like talk to Eleanor Roosevelt.