Chelsea fields campaign curveballs

Chelsea Clinton is beginning to realise that life on the campaign trail is not all smiles and handshakes. At first the 28-year-old, who is now a hedge find manager, only had to contend with die-hard Hillary supporters, who turned up to take photos and throw her the odd softball question. But now, particularly at the universities, this has changed, leading some to believe that Barack Obama supporters are coming along and deliberating trying to rattle her.

For example, at Butler University in Indiana the other day, a student, or what looked like one, asked Chelsea if the Monica Lewinsky scandal and her father's impeachment had adversely affected her mother's credibility.

Chelsea, clearly annoyed, snapped back: "I do not think that is any of your business." It was this remark, of course, that made it into the newspapers. The following week, the topic came up again at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. "I think that is something that is personal to my family," she said. "But also on a larger point, I don't think you should vote for or against my mother because of my father." (Continued below)

That said, Chelsea is not above a little sharp practice herself. During a long day of campaigning in Oregon last week, she mentioned at two different stops that during the course of the campaign a seven-year-old and an 11-year-old had separately asked her "with terror in their eyes" what will become of the Social Security system.

But when asked for details, such as where and when Clinton met the children, the Clinton campaign team could not provide them.