Two successful runs for the Senate and an ongoing presidential campaign will do that for you.

The woman hit the ground running after inauguration, with her schedules showing constant meetings with health-care experts, medical groups, lawmakers, industry reps and lobbyists.

But the arrogance and secrecy of her proceedings, and a seeming unwillingness to share credit if the plan passed, spelled doom. After that humiliation, reporters who have studied her schedules say, she reverted to a more traditional role as first lady ...

The schedules themselves do not support her claim to have been in on passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act, but they do show that she helped promote the North American Free Trade Agreement, a landmark she now says she opposes.

As for foreign policy, the schedules for her overseas travels show her socializing with other first ladies, visiting schools and clinics, and attending exhibitions of the local culture.

This is very important in terms of diplomacy and protocol, but it is not training for that now-fabled 3 a.m. phone call in the White House family quarters.