In 1978, the San Francisco Democrat was one of the first women to become mayor of a major US city. In 1992, she was one of California's two first female senators. This year, she hoped to see Mrs Clinton become the first woman to occupy the White House.
But at 9pm last Thursday, it fell to her to help guide Mrs Clinton's campaign to a close. 'It's a very hard loss,' said the 74-year-old senator. She had publicly defended Mrs Clinton's right to keep fighting against suggestions in March that she should fold her tent. But by last month, she had begun to openly worry about the bitter tone of the primary battle. She suggested the two should be on the same ticket.
After Mr Obama clinched the party's presidential nomination last week, Mrs Clinton talked to her about sitting down with him. Ms Feinstein offered the privacy of her home, where the two met for about an hour before they took their leave.
Said Ms Feinstein: 'I came down and said, 'Good night, everybody. I hope you had a good meeting.' They were both laughing, and that was it.'
Los Angeles Times
