在美国国会大厦举行的宣誓就职仪式上，新当选的伊利诺伊州年轻参议员谭美·达克沃斯站起来握着一份宪法副本，回到轮椅上，她告诉当时的副总统乔·拜登，“这很重要，是你做了这件事。”
对杜克沃斯来说，他出席2017年1月的仪式意义重大，因为她说她觉得他体现了“生存和韧性”，代表了一种服务的顶点在他漫长的职业生涯和面对逆境的个人经历中。
“这些年来，(拜登)刚刚表明他可以克服很多，而我已经克服了很多。他明白了。他明白了。杜克沃斯在接受美国广播公司采访时说:“他可能没有经历过和我一样的创伤，但他经历过创伤，他看到了另一面。”。
她现在发现自己正与民主党总统候选人拜登竞争。美国广播公司获悉，这位参议员正在接受竞选伙伴的审查，并且已经接受了拜登副总统竞选委员会的采访。
在剩下的几周时间里，她坚持说她已经准备好以任何身份服务。
“我已经向他们表明，无论他想扮演什么样的角色——他需要我去做——我都会完成这个任务，”杜克沃斯说，同时伸出手表示她正在与拜登团队进行会谈。“如果这个角色是去某个美国基地扫地...我去做。我们在这个国家面临许多挑战，我真的相信乔·拜登是帮助我们应对这些挑战并战胜它们的合适人选。”
2017年1月3日，在美国国会大厦的旧参议院会议厅，谭美·达克沃斯参议员与美国副总统乔·拜登一起参加了一场重演的宣誓就职仪式。艾伦·伯恩斯坦/盖蒂图像公司
也许没有其他女性有像杜克沃斯这样引人注目的个人故事。在她青少年时期的一部分时间花在食品券上，几乎无家可归后，她加入了伊利诺伊州国民警卫队，并于2004年被派往伊拉克，在那里她驾驶的黑鹰直升机被一枚火箭推进榴弹击中。
这次袭击使她濒临死亡，但杜克沃斯被她的战友救了出来——有些人也受了伤。她会在沃尔特·里德陆军医疗中心醒来描述的就像“无休止的，无情的，看似无尽的痛苦”她在攻击和部分使用右臂中失去了双腿，开始了她所谓的“第二人生”
一名前工作人员对这位参议员大加赞赏，称她是“无党派人士”，在工作中考虑周到。这位前员工幸灾乐祸地谈到了她在休息时间的友好天性，包括喜欢在办公室恶作剧，以及炫耀她的照片两个年轻的女儿-提醒杜克沃斯也是一个工作的母亲。
但据接近杜克沃斯的人说，正是她的军事背景让她成为拜登的副手。
“如果你在寻找一个能成为团队成员和忠诚盟友的人——这是塔米能做的。她是一个绝对的团队合作者。她是一个工作狂，而不是一匹表演马，当我们到达参议院时，她马上就说‘好吧，我想以我的努力工作、我的立法和政策成就而出名。“其他一切都是次要的，”同一个前员工说。
唯一有军事经验的副总统候选人
最近对军队的关注让杜克沃斯展示了她作为攻击总统的狗的优势唐纳德·特朗普他经常以嘉宾身份出现在有线电视新闻中，最近在参议院发表了尖锐的个人演讲，此前有报道称，俄罗斯向塔利班武装分子提供赏金，让其杀死美国军队，但没有采取任何行动。
“‘我不知道我们的对手在帮助杀死美国军队，因为没有人告诉我’不是地球上最伟大的军队的总司令的借口。这实际上是对自己无能的承认，”杜克沃斯在谈到特朗普声称自己未被告知时表示。
盟友们说，杜克沃斯的兵役也让她有了特氟隆的外表，尽管给了他一个绰号——“骨刺学员”，但她避开了总统的任何攻击或绰号。这是他所获得的最高军衔，同时也是他无法在越南服役的原因。
“塔米是唐纳德·特朗普最有效的对手。她会在选票上加上严肃的国家安全证书，亲自代表我们的军队发言，并在唐纳德·特朗普扮演恶霸时与他对质。唐纳德·特朗普没有为塔米发明一个廉价的昵称是有原因的。伊利诺伊州资深参议员迪克·德宾在一份声明中告诉美国广播公司，她在让杜克沃斯从政方面发挥了关键作用。
对杜克沃斯来说，理解特朗普的优势是“浪费时间”
“我一点也不在乎唐纳德·特朗普为什么没有回应我。杜克沃斯说:“他不值得我浪费时间去想，他有什么动机，因为我甚至不明白一个人怎么会有125，000名死去的美国人去高尔夫球场。”。“它对我来说是如此陌生，对我一生中所做的一切都是如此陌生。”
尽管如此，当被问及她是否认为在全国最大的新闻中对军队的关注会更加强调有军事经验的民主党候选人时，杜克沃斯外交上表示了异议。
“我认为拥有一个有军事经验的人是有好处的，”她说。“我不认为这是一个要求，但我认为这将有助于理解如何真正利用我们的军队来确保我们国家的国防和国家安全，而不利用军队获取政治利益。”
她面临的挑战
杜克沃斯和拜登一起登上总统宝座的前景与她自己的记录和历史背道而驰，女性候选人名单也在考虑之中。
接近杜克沃斯的消息人士称，这位参议员不一定对白宫有抱负，但对于最初着眼于外交事务的女性来说，国会生涯也不一定是头等大事。他们说，对她来说，这是对服务的回应。在成为伊利诺伊州的初级参议员之前，她在众议院服务了两个任期——两次击败现任议员赢得了她的席位。
“她显然非常有效，”圣路易斯大学的副总统学者乔尔·戈尔茨坦说。“她现在也能在国家舞台上做到吗?这就是我认为他们会问的关于她的问题，以及他们正在看的所有其他人的问题。”
尽管如此，她是否符合拜登的最高资格——能够在第一天就进入总统宝座——还有待观察。考虑到拜登的年龄，这种能力是至关重要的——他已经77岁了，如果他成功的话，将是有史以来最年长的当选总统——他的副总统在很大程度上被视为他的继任者的人选。
随着对拜登竞选伙伴的搜寻接近8月初的选人目标日期，杜克沃斯一直在稳步提升自己的形象，尤其是在特朗普的行动和全国范围内的大规模骚乱将军队的角色推到全国聚光灯下之际，她找到了前进的步伐。
但她也面临一些障碍。
周二，她的家乡报纸《芝加哥论坛报》，批评她的立法记录尽管她在参议院取得了“一些进展”，但她在众议院任职期间“鲜有立法成就”。
杜克沃斯本人完全驳回了指控，在两院为自己的努力辩护，包括通过一项法律，要求所有主要机场为哺乳母亲提供私人哺乳室。
“我为我所做的工作感到骄傲，”她说。“我总是在少数情况下这样做...我很高兴把我通过的立法和修正案的立法记录与任何人的记录相对比...每天醒来，我都会想，‘我还能做些什么来为我的国家服务呢?’"
杜克沃斯的较低的姓名标识引发了人们对她的能力的质疑，她是否有能力激发民主党的基础，以及她是否有能力帮助赢得最终决定选举结果的各州的胜利。但政治专家表示，这也可能有一些好处。
“从拜登的角度来看，你在定义她方面的投入要比在伊丽莎白·沃伦身上投入的多，...卡马拉·哈里斯...他们的定义相当明确，”伊利诺伊大学斯普林菲尔德分校政治学荣誉退休教授肯特·雷德菲尔德博士在一次采访中说。“这也意味着她不会带着哈里斯或沃伦可能有的行李进来。”
副总统竞选主要是在秘密进行的，背景是系统性种族主义和警察暴力引发的深刻的全国动荡——一些民主党人向拜登施加更大压力，要求他选择一名非洲裔美国女性，以表明他致力于解决种族问题。
“当你想到任何一个候选人，他们都有优点和缺点，”戈尔茨坦说。“因此，选择杜克沃斯参议员的挑战之一是，尽管她是有色人种，但她不是非洲裔美国人，那些认为他应该选择一个非裔美国人的竞争者的人，他们会失望吗?”
参议院中有许多第一的女性:杜克沃斯出生在泰国，使她成为第一个泰国裔美国人;她是第一位女性截肢者;第一位在任期间分娩的参议员;把她的新生儿带到参议院。
如果当选，杜克沃斯将成为第一个获得总统候选人提名的亚裔美国人——如果成功，她将成为第一位女性副总统，也是自富兰克林·德拉诺·罗斯福以来第一位坐轮椅的人，在美国最高的两个办公室之一任职。
杜克沃斯还带来了她在州和联邦退伍军人事务部的经验，此前她分别被名誉扫地的前州长罗德·布拉戈耶维奇和总统巴拉克·奥巴马选中担任这两个部门的领导职务。
2018年4月19日，在华盛顿的美国国会大厦，参议员谭美·达克沃斯带着她10天大的女儿梅尔·珀尔·鲍尔斯贝来到参议院进行投票。吉姆·洛·斯卡索/环境保护局
但是专家说，她最突出的缺点可能是她与伊利诺伊州的关系，伊利诺伊州以其“旧式”政治而闻名，这种政治通常是由其腐败的历史来定义的。
“如果你不把她定义为一个腐败的伊利诺伊州政客，一个布拉戈耶维奇和奥巴马的门生，如果你是反对派的话，那你就犯了政治渎职罪，”雷德菲尔德说，他指的是2011年布拉戈耶维奇被判试图出售奥巴马2008年入主白宫时空出的美国参议院席位。法宝通勤布拉戈耶维奇今年早些时候的判决。
对抗她记录中可能存在的障碍或她的联想是她唯一拥有的优势。
“她不是一个容易的目标，”他说。“她很可爱。...她的军队(服役)和她的故事，对于那些非意识形态但更保守的人来说，这将是一个优势。”
杜克沃斯已经证明了她有能力应对袭击。
在2016年伊利诺伊州参议院竞选期间的一场辩论中，杜克沃斯谈到了她家族自独立战争以来的兵役，这促使前者共和党参议员马克·柯克讽刺道:“我忘了你的父母从泰国远道而来为乔治·华盛顿服务。”
当特朗普站在圣约翰圣公会教堂外与高级军事官员合影时，杜克沃斯写了一封措辞严厉的信专栏标题为“看着两个将军像哈巴狗一样跟在一个五次征兵的逃兵后面走，我很伤心”，吸引了参谋长联席会议主席马克·米莉将军的电话，他和总统一起出现在照片上，向她道歉。
她还和马萨诸塞州参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦——另一位潜在的副总统候选人——以及几位参议院同事一起提出了一项法案，从军事设施中删除南方联盟人物的名字。
杜克沃斯的一些最亲密的盟友认为她的军事背景对她的前景和她能带来的好处。
“作为一名老兵，她也能赢得选民的支持，否则他们可能不会考虑支持民主党。这就是2016年她与现任共和党人竞选参议员时在伊利诺伊州南部发生的事情。在那次选举中，她在伊利诺斯州最红的县赢得了特朗普选民的支持，”德宾写道。
与拜登家族的个人联系
除了杜克沃斯引人注目的背景、进入政治领域的道路和在国家面临多重危机时取得的成就，她还与拜登家族有着个人联系。
她在2008年民主党全国代表大会上介绍了战友博·拜登，这是她作为演讲者之一参加的三次四年一度的集会中的第一次。
2008年8月27日，时任退伍军人事务部主任、直升机飞行员和伊拉克战争老兵谭美·达克沃斯在丹佛的百事中心向2008年民主党全国代表大会发表演讲。保罗·理查兹/法新社
今年早些时候，当杜克沃斯在三月份支持拜登时，她比德宾早几天就支持了。从那以后，她在一次筹款活动中帮助他筹集了160万美元专栏拜登将纪念亚裔美国人传统月，并将于周四主持拜登全国妇女呼吁活动。
杜克沃斯也与吉尔·拜登博士关系密切。在奥巴马政府期间，在杜克沃斯担任退伍军人事务部部长期间，以及这位前第二夫人主要关注退伍军人问题时，他们一起工作。
“你在许多方面为我们的国家服务...拜登本周早些时候在杜克沃斯庆祝美国残疾人法案30周年的虚拟筹款活动上说:“你们激励了全国这么多人，我们很荣幸得到你们的支持。”。
吉尔·拜登周二在接受《早安美国》采访时说，她的丈夫“希望有一段像他和巴拉克一样的关系”，但并没有考虑谁应该成为拜登的竞选伙伴
“没有人比乔更了解副总统的角色，他们互相尊重，最终，你知道乔是最后一个发表意见的人，我认为这才是最重要的——他们有着共同的价值观，对治理我们的国家有着共同的愿景，”她说。她还补充道，“希望他能听(她)的，听(她)的建议。”
拜登的一个众所周知的价值是他的同理心——那些接近这位参议员的人说，她也认同这一价值。认识杜克沃斯多年的VoteVets.org的创始人和主席约翰·索尔兹回忆说，这位参议员突然出现在他母亲的葬礼上向她致敬。
索尔兹说:“我想不出有谁比谭美·达克沃斯更值得我信任，或者更忠诚，因为我已经在美国政坛待了这么长时间。”。
Service has shaped Sen. Tammy Duckworth. Is her next post in the White House?
As Tammy Duckworth, the newly minted junior senator from Illinois, returned to her wheelchair after standing to hold her hand on a copy of the Constitution at her swearing-in ceremony in the U.S. Capitol, she told then-Vice President Joe Biden, "it means a lot that you're the one who did this."
For Duckworth, his presence at the January 2017 ceremony was significant because she said that she felt he embodied "survival and resilience" and represented aculmination of servicethroughout his long career and personal story in the face of adversity.
"Over the years, (Biden) has just shown that he can overcome a lot, and I've overcome a lot. And he gets it. He gets it. He may not have gone through the same traumas that I've gone through, but he's gone through trauma, and he's seen the other side," Duckworth said in an interview with ABC News.
She now finds herself in contention to serve alongside Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president. ABC News has learned that the senator is in the process of being vetted for the running mate slot and has interviewed with Biden's vice presidential search committee.
During the remaining weeks of the process, she maintains that she's prepared to serve in any capacity.
"I've made it clear to them that whatever role he wants -- he needs me to do -- I will perform that task," Duckworth said, tipping her hand that she is in talks with the Biden team. "And if that role is to go sweep floors on a U.S. base somewhere ... I'll go do that. We have a lot of challenges in this country and I truly believe that Joe Biden is the right person to help us meet those challenges and overcome them."
Perhaps no other woman in consideration has as compelling a personal story as Duckworth. After spending a portion of her teenage years on food stamps and nearly homeless, she went on to join the Illinois National Guard, and deploy to Iraq in 2004, where the Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade.
The attack left her near death, but Duckworth was saved by her fellow service members -- some who were also injured. She would wake in Walter Reed Army Medical Center, in what shedescribedas "nonstop, unrelenting, seemingly endless agony." She lost both her legs in the attack and partial use of her right arm -- beginning what she has referred to as her "second life."
A former staffer sung the senator's praises, describing her as "no B.S." and thoughtful when it comes to her work. The former staffer spoke glowingly about her friendly nature amid downtime, including a love of pranks in the office, and showing off photos of hertwo young daughters-- a reminder that Duckworth is also a working mom.
But it's her military background, according to those close to Duckworth, that would inform her service as Biden's second-in-command.
"If you're looking for someone who's going to be a team player and a loyal ally -- that is what Tammy can do. She's an absolute team player. She's a workhorse, not a show horse and when we got to the Senate, she immediately was like 'OK, I want to be known for my hard work, my legislative and policy accomplishments. Everything else is secondary,'" the same former staffer said.
The lone VP contender with military experience
A recent spotlight on the military has allowed Duckworth to showcase her strengths as an attack dog against PresidentDonald Trump, often appearing as a guest on cable news, and recently giving a pointed and personal speech on the Senate floor following reports that the president was briefed on the intelligence behind reports Russia offered bounties to Taliban militants to kill U.S. troops, but took no action.
"'I didn't know that our adversary was helping kill American troops because no one told me' is not an excuse for the commander in chief of the greatest military on earth. It is in fact a confession of incompetence," Duckworth said of Trump's claims he had not been informed.
Duckworth's military service also gives her a Teflon exterior, allies said, dodging any attacks or nicknames from the president despite giving him one -- "Cadet Bone Spurs," combining the highest military rank he ever received with the ailment that kept him from serving in Vietnam.
"Tammy is the most effective counterpoint to Donald Trump. She would add serious national security credentials to the ticket, speak personally for our military, and confront Donald Trump when he plays the bully. There's a reason Donald Trump has not invented a cheap nickname for Tammy. She's out of his league," Illinois' senior Sen. Dick Durbin, who played a pivotal role in getting Duckworth into politics, told ABC News in a statement.
For Duckworth, understanding what makes Trump tick is a "waste of time."
"I couldn't care less why Donald Trump has not responded to me. He's not worth me wasting time wondering, what motivations go on his mind because I can't even comprehend how someone can have 125,000 dead Americans and be out on the golf course," Duckworth said. "It is so alien to me, to everything that I've done in my life."
Still, when asked if she thought that the attention on the military in the midst of the biggest stories across the country would place a stronger emphasis on a Democratic ticket with military experience, Duckworth diplomatically demurred.
"I think there's a benefit to having someone with military experience," she said. "I don't think that it's a requirement, but I think it will frame an understanding for how to truly use our military to secure our nation's defense and our nation's national security without exploiting the military for political gain."
The challenges she's up against
Duckworth's prospects of landing on the ticket alongside Biden are up against her own record and history, and that of the slate of women also under consideration.
Sources close to Duckworth say the senator doesn't necessarily have aspirations for the White House, but for the woman who initially had her eyes set on the foreign service, a congressional career was not necessarily top of mind, either. For her, they say, it's about answering the call to service. She served two terms in the House, before becoming the junior senator from Illinois -- defeating incumbents twice to earn her seat.
"She's obviously been very effective," Joel Goldstein, a vice presidential scholar at St. Louis University said. "Can she now do that at the national stage as well? And that's the question I think they'll be asking about her, and all the other people that they're looking at."
Still, it remains to be seen if she satisfies a top qualification for Biden -- being able to step into the presidency on day one. That capability is one that is paramount given Biden's age -- he is 77 and would be the oldest president ever elected if he's successful -- and his vice president is largely being seen as a pick for his successor.
As the search for Biden's running mate approaches the early August target date for making a selection, Duckworth has been steadily raising her profile, particularly finding her stride as Trump's actions and the widespread national unrest across the country thrust the role of the military into the national spotlight.
But she also faces some hurdles.
On Tuesday, her hometown newspaper, the Chicago Tribune,criticized her legislative recordas "light" -- a swipe at her "few legislative accomplishments" during her tenure in the House, despite making "some headway" in the Senate.
Duckworth, herself, entirely dismissed the charge, defending her efforts in both chambers, including passing a law that requires all major airports to provide nursing moms with private lactation rooms.
"I'm proud of the work that I have done," she said. "I did it always in the minority ... I'm happy to put my legislative record of legislation and amendments that I passed up against anybody's ... every day I wake up and I think, 'what else can I do to help serve my country?'"
Duckworth'slower name IDraises questions about her ability to energize the Democratic base, and her ability to help deliver victories across the battleground states that could ultimately define the outcome of the election. But it could also have some benefits, political experts said.
"From the Biden standpoint -- you've got to invest more in defining her than you would with Elizabeth Warren, ... Kamala Harris ... they're pretty well defined," Dr. Kent Redfield, an emeritus professor of political science at the University of Illinois at Springfield, said in an interview. "Now that also means she doesn't come in with some of the baggage that Harris or Warren might have."
The vice presidential search is occurring largely in secret and against the backdrop of deep national unrest over systemic racism and police brutality -- with some Democrats putting more pressure on Biden to pick an African American woman to signal his commitment to addressing the reckoning on race.
"When you think about any candidate, all of them have strengths and weaknesses," Goldstein said. "And so one of the challenges if to pick Sen. Duckworth is that although she's a person of color, she's not African American and, people who have argued that he ought to pick one of the contenders who's African American, would they be disappointed?"
A woman of many firsts in the Senate: Duckworth was born in Thailand, making her the first Thai American; she is the first female amputee; the first senator to give birth while in office; and to bring her newborn to the Senate floor.
If selected, Duckworth would be the first person of Asian American descent on a presidential ticket -- and if successful, would be the first female vice president, and the first wheelchair user since Franklin Delano Roosevelt to serve in one of the nation's top two offices.
Duckworth also brings with her experience from the Department of Veteran's Affairs at both the state and federal level after she was tapped by disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich and President Barack Obama, respectively, for leadership roles in both departments.
But some of her most prominent drawbacks, experts said, could be her ties to Illinois, known for its "old-style" politics often defined by its history of corruption.
"You'd be committing political malpractice if you didn't try to define her as a corrupt Illinois politician, a protégé of Blagojevich and Obama, if you were the opposition," Redfield said, referencing Blagojevich's 2011 conviction of attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated when Obama entered the White House in 2008. TrumpcommutedBlagojevich's sentence earlier this year.
Countering the possible hindrances in her record or her associations is an advantage only she holds.
"She's not an easy target," he said. "She is very relatable. ... Her military (service) and her story, for people that are non-ideological but more conservative, that's gonna be a plus."
Duckworth has proved she's able to handle attacks when they come.
In a 2016 debate during the Senate race in Illinois, Duckworth talked about her family's military service dating back to the Revolutionary War,which prompted formerGOP Sen. Mark Kirk to quip, "I forgot your parents came all the way from Thailand to serve George Washington."
When Trump stood outside St. John's Episcopal Church for a photo op alongside top military officials, Duckworth penned a scathingop-edentitled, "It broke my heart to watch two generals walk like lapdogs behind a five-time draft dodger," drawing a call from Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who appeared in the photo with the president, to apologize to her.
She also joined in introducing a bill along with Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren -- another potential vice presidential pick -- and several Senate colleagues to remove the names of Confederate figures from military installations.
Some of Duckworth's closest allies view her military background as a boon for her prospects and what she could bring to the ticket.
"As a veteran, she can also win over voters who might otherwise not consider supporting a Democrat. That's what happened in southern Illinois when she ran for Senate in 2016 against an incumbent Republican. In that election, she did well with Trump voters in the reddest downstate Illinois counties," Durbin wrote.
A personal connection to the Biden clan
Beyond Duckworth's compelling background, path into the political sphere and accomplishments as the nation confronts multiple crises, she also has a personal connection to the Biden family.
She introduced Beau Biden, a fellow soldier, at the 2008 Democratic National Convention -- the first of three quadrennial gatherings in which she was part of the speaker lineup.
Earlier this year, when Duckworth endorsed Biden in March, she did so a few days before Durbin. Since then, she's helped raise $1.6 million for his campaign from a fundraiser she co-hosted, co-authored anop-edwith Biden commemorating Asian American Heritage Month and is set to host a Women for Biden national call on Thursday for the campaign.
Duckworth is also close with Dr. Jill Biden. They worked together throughout the Obama administration, during Duckworth's tenure in the Department of Veterans Affairs and when the former second lady was focusing largely on veterans issues.
"You have served our nation in so many ways ... you inspire so many people across this country, and we are honored to have your support," Biden said earlier this week of Duckworth at a virtual fundraiser celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Without weighing in on the speculation about who should become Biden's running mate, Jill Biden told "Good Morning America" on Tuesday that her husband "wants a relationship like he had with Barack."
"No one knows better than Joe does about the role of the vice president, and they respected one another and at the end of the day, you know Joe was the last one in the room to give his opinion and I think that's what matters -- that they share the same values and they have the same vision about governing our country," she said, adding that she "hopes that he will listen to (her) and get (her) advice."
A value Biden is known for is his empathy -- a value those close to the senator say is one that she shares as well. John Soltz, the founder and chairman of VoteVets.org, who has known Duckworth for years, recalled the senator showing up at his mother's funeral unannounced to pay her respects.
"I can't think of anybody who I've dealt with in American politics for such a long time that I trust more, or has more loyalty than Tammy Duckworth," Soltz said.
