it<u+2019>s standard practice for journalists everywhere: when facing a major story on deadline, put together material in advance to account for each possible outcome. it happens every day at the new york times <u+2014> and it happened here tuesday night. various front pages were drawn up ahead of the election. some celebrated donald j. trump<u+2019>s unexpected victory. others, following a majority of predictions at this paper and elsewhere, celebrated hillary clinton<u+2019>s trailblazing triumph. and so, in the heart of the times<u+2019>s newsroom, long before the exit polls hinted at an upset <u+2014> and hours before the news media confirmed mr. trump<u+2019>s earthshaking win <u+2014> tom bodkin, the times<u+2019>s design director, quietly looked over one such draft. <u+201c>madam president,<u+201d> the would-be headline read. to some, the image you see here is a painful reminder of a historic presidency that did not come to pass. for others, it speaks volumes about a campaign that many underestimated since the very beginning. but regardless of one<u+2019>s political inclination, the image betrays a simple and undeniable truth: hillary clinton, who turned 69 last month, will not be america<u+2019>s first female president. the glass ceiling she strived so ardently to shatter remains, for now, firmly in place. and the times <u+2014> along with its readers in the united states and around the world <u+2014> will have to shelve the idea of a madam president. follow times insider on twitter .
<u+2018>madam president<u+2019>: an iconic front page that wasn<u+2019>t to be
stephen hiltner