Vogue profiles Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in a piece headlined "In Hillary's Footsteps." The highlights:

-- "Gillibrand is nothing if not genuine, and through sheer force of personality she bends the occasion to suit her style, which is essentially folksy and earnest. She radiates kindness. But she is also direct and no-nonsense. Despite the fact that she is a Democrat (and a fairly progressive one, at that) and worked for fifteen years as a hotshot Manhattan lawyer, she seems utterly at ease among this crowd of mostly Republican farmers, with their rough hands and weathered faces."

-- Daily Beast publisher: "Tina Brown, the editor in chief of The Daily Beast, told me: "People underestimate how smart Senator Gillibrand is. I hosted a dinner for her to meet a number of CEOs and media figures, and in conversation she was brilliant in her analysis of the economic meltdown. And she is an amazing fund-raiser... an unstoppable machine when she works the room."

-- NBC political reporter Andrea Mitchell, about playing softball with Gillibrand: "And there was Gillibrand, who I never would have thought of as this tomboy character, and she was pitching. She was the team captain. Just a complete fireplug. There is an athleticism and youthfulness about her. But she kind of defies stereotypes."

-- Hudson encapsulates the "fundamental contradiction that is Senator Gillibrand--a small-town girl with rural American values but big-city aspirations--as well as the difficulties inherent in representing the state of New York, one that is largely rural and in some places very Republican but also dominated by the often more urgent needs of New York City, with its rich stew of eight million people, most of whom are Democrats"

-- Gillibrand, on gay rights, in a "girly voice" reminiscent of Renee Zelwegger: "My mother had a lot of gay friends...and they were very much part of our close circle. And I cared a lot about them. One of my mother's friends' partners died of AIDS early on, and that affected me. This man was so interesting, so engaging, was always superkind to me. One of the most handsome men I'd ever met. And it was just such a loss for a young girl to see someone die so young" (10/20).

Changing Her Stripes

Gillibrand's "image building" in office has "played to concerns among liberal Democrats about her defense of gun rights for sportsmen and her tough line on illegal immigration" while serving in the House (Tumulty, Gannett, 10/20).

Winning Westchester

The Westchester Journal-News endorsed Gillibrand (10/20).