Betsy - Sep. 30, 2016

BETSY: I've known Hillary since September of 1958. We have been friends through all these years. Each other's weddings. Babies being born. Parents sick. Parents dying.

INTERVIEWER: Did you ever in a million years think that she would be who she is today?

BETSY: No, gosh. We were just thinking of the next Nancy Drew book we could get our hands on. I would say that she inherited at her mother's knee that feeling that you always give back. You get up every day and do your very best for everyone around you. That's very much her.

(At this year's Democratic National Convention, Betsy cast the Illinois votes for Hillary during roll call.)

BETSY: Hello, fellow Democrats. On this historic, wonderful day, in honor of Dorothy and Hugh's daughter, and my sweet friends—I know you're watching—this one's for you, Hil. Ninety-eight votes: Yes. I really felt the presence of her parents in the room that day, and I wanted to make sure they were mentioned. But standing there all that time, and it took forever, and all of a sudden they said, "Okay. We're next." And I think that's when it hit me that she was really going to do this. It was going to happen. It was overwhelming in every sense of that word. I never really understood what overwhelming was until I was standing there, and I thought, "Wow." Helping people was very much an outlet for this inner spirit she's always had about caring about people. She wants to give voice to the voiceless. I know it sounds so cheesy, but she truly does. That's how she lives her life. And I think maybe in some ways, that's why people attack her. They just can't believe that she's real. So the way to negate that is just to negate her goodness. It's the kids in your class when you're little who don't like the smart girl. I can remember when she became a senator, and I went to have lunch with her in the Senate dining room, and many of the Republican senators came over. "Do you know how hard she works?" they'd say to me, and I'm looking at them. I thought, gosh, a year ago you were impeaching Bill. And they would say, "No. She's great. She works really hard." That meant everything to me. Hard workers don't always get a lot of credit. She's just out there, every day, doing God's work in her own way. Making her parents proud. Yeah, that's a pretty good person. She's a good girl. She's a good girl.