The First Lady To Be Series: Jackie Marie Clegg Dodd

The funny thing about Chris Dodd is that it’s exceedingly difficult to find a young photo of him, and even more difficult to imagine him as anything other than the white-haired, bushy-browed diplomat that he is today. Yet, it’s well-documented that he’s dated Bianca Jagger, Carrie Fisher and Patricia Duff, before settling down with Jackie Marie Clegg, who is his second wife of nine years.

Jackie Marie Clegg is the Mormon no one talks about. While Mitt and Ann Romney have caught public condemnation, Jackie just basks in the shadow, as she always has. There’s something about her presence that exudes professionalism and a “Don’t go there” sort of vibe. She’s an energetic Utah gal who’s instinctively everything you’d want in a first lady: calm, organized, professional, maternal and supportive.

As the middle child of six, Jackie was used to hiding in the shadows, where she was most comfortable. Her father was a History and Economics teacher, who later became a real estate broker and home builder to support the large family. Jackie’s grandfather also encouraged her early interest in politics. “From the time I was a little kid, I was reading newspapers, and my grandfather would always call and ask what the scuttlebutt was. You always had to have an answer for him so you learned how to pick up a newspaper and know what was going on in the world," she recalls.

After graduating summa cum laude from Southern Utah University where she studied forensics and earning her Masters in national security at Georgetown University, she was a legislative staff assistant to Senator Jake Garn, concentrating on foreign policy, trade and national security. “She was the classic Washington staff member, anonymous to the media and invaluable to her boss, one of those people you see in the halls, all business, briefed to the teeth and ready to spill it all out to the senator,” writes David Lightman, contributor for The Swamp and the Hartford Courant.

She put in time on the Appropriations Committee, as well as the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on International Finance and Monetary Policy. *

*Side Note: Chris Dodd worked as chair of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee…Man, I’d hate to be sitting around that dinner table! “What’d you do today, honey?”
“Well, we talked about the New Madrid Seismic Zone and how that relates to FEMA, as well as our responsiveness in the event of radiological dispersion device detonations within the US… you?”
“Oh, just a few meetings on Data dissemination systems in Palestine and Hong Kong, structural adjustment programs, SAPs, austerity programs, the usual.”

Though Chris Dodd had noticed her in the legislative wings as “bright, interesting and attractive,” it was on an equal playing field – or shall we say, slope – that romance bloomed. Jackie officially met Chris Dodd on the ski slopes, while helping Jake Garn organize the Senator’s Ski Cup charity event in Park City. Things took off quick and they were secretly engaged for two years before marrying in 1999 (“secretly,” because Jackie’s father Carl Clegg was a staunch Republican and was hesitant to embrace an Irish-Catholic, Democratic son-in-law.) Of course, over time Dodd impressed Mr. Clegg. “He was always very straightforward and respectful,” Jackie’s brother Michael told the Deseret News.

Also that year, Jackie began working in the Clinton administration as Vice Chairman and First Vice President of the Export-Import Bank of the United States, where her main task was encouraging other countries to purchase American-made goods, which was no easy feat considering the strong dollar. After just eighteen months, she became Chief Operating Officer, spurring jealousy among her coworkers. However, coworker Julie Belaga added, “But she was a smart woman who played it cool and just did her job.”

Jackie campaigned extensively with her husband when she could, even agreeing to move the family to Iowa to help bolster support for Dodd’s presidential bid. Unfortunately, little has changed in the numbers games. But Jackie didn’t mind the 1929 Tudor Victorian mansion… for now. She still works, running the Clegg International Consultants firm from home and earning director’s fees from Blockbuster, the Chicago Board of Trade, Cardiome Pharma Corp., Innovative Drug Delivery Systems, Inc. and IPC Holdings, Ltd. Her organized perfectionist disposition allows her to multi-task, keeping her complex life under control.

Like Judith Giuliani, Jackie Marie Clegg Dodd suffered a 9/11 horror of her own. In the early morning of the attacks, Jackie was going into labor with their first daughter, Grace. (Luckily the labor was interrupted and didn’t actually occur until two days later, since the roads to the hospital were blocked.) After a one month birthday party at Dodd’s office, the family found out that Anthrax had been detected in a mail drop. After the scare, Jackie became an extremely protective mother in her efforts to shield the children from an uncertain future. "We're only going to go to countries where we can safety drink the water, breathe the air and not be at risk of attack… Maybe that rules out the United States,” she joked.