The Reintroduction of Kirsten Gillibrand

After a shaky first hundred days, the junior senator from New York is trying to start over.

By Stephen Rodrick
Published Jun 7, 2009

The shuttle that transports senators from the Capitol to their offices shimmies a bit, like a kiddie roller coaster. Kirsten Gillibrand, new to the ride, holds on to her seat very tightly as the train clatters to a stop. Gillibrand is already into hour six of her day, and it’s barely noon. She drove her 1-year-old son, Henry, to day care, clutching a bottle of breast milk she had pumped earlier. She then banged out “Old MacDonald Had a Farmâ€