The Military Hillary, Cont'd

Friends from the Fayetteville years confirmed the story, though they were hazy on the details. "All I can remember is that she looked into it," said Diane Blair, a political science professor at the University of Arkansas and longtime friend of Hillary Clinton.

Less certain was the context of the First Lady's leatherneck moment. Questions to her press office yesterday did little to clarify the matter. An aide speculated that perhaps Clinton, a lawyer, was interested in the judge advocate general's corps, which is the legal arm of the military.

But Ann Henry, a University of Arkansas business professor and Fayetteville friend of the First Lady, said she "vaguely" recalled the episode in the context of frequent discussions they used to have about women's access to supposedly open career paths. Frequently, the equal opportunity that was promised was not a reality -- and sometimes female faculty members went out to conduct "tests," Henry said.

If Hillary Rodham had asked about the Marines as a way of testing whether the corps actually welcomed women, "it would have been consistent with what was going on with us at the time," Henry said.

"Is it possible she was testing?" Blair asked. "I don't remember if she was seriously exploring a career, or was moved by curiosity, or patriotism or feminism. I wish I had kept notes."