Bill Clinton Council (DLC), the New Democrats argued that in light of President Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in 1984, the Democratic Party needed to adopt a more centrist political stance in order to succeed at the national level. Clinton delivered the Democratic response to Reagan's 1985 State of the Union Address and served as chair of the National Governors Association from 1986 to 1987, bringing him to an audience beyond Arkansas. In the early 1980s, Clinton made reform of the Arkansas education system a top priority of his gubernatorial administration. The Arkansas Education Standards Committee was chaired by Clinton's wife Hillary Rodham
Cultural and political image of Hillary Clinton Rodham Clinton" in work she did as First Lady of the state. Once she became First Lady of the United States in 1993, she publicly stated that she wanted to be known as "Hillary Rodham Clinton". (This announcement was parodied by the May 1993 film spoof "Hot Shots! Part Deux", in which all the female characters were given the middle name "Rodham"; see IMDB entry). As of 1993, she had not legally changed her name from Hillary Rodham. She authored five books and numerous articles as "Hillary Rodham Clinton", interspersed with a smaller number of articles authored as "Hillary Clinton".