fairmont in san francisco. >>> when we come back on "a second look," from tragedy to triumph, diane feinstein'sr nearing political career and look back at the administration that sought to equalize men and women's access to college, including college sports. . >>> over the years dianne feinstein has rep a number of firsts for women. she was the first female president of the san francisco board of supervisors and the city's first woman mayor, california's first female senator and the first female member of the senate judiciary committee. feinstein was first elect to the senate in 1992 in a special election to replace pete wilson after he became governor of california. in 2000, ktvu political editor randy shandobil talked to her. >> reporter: election night 200 the voters of california re- elect 67-year-old dianne feinstein for the united states senate by an overwhelming margin. it's a moment of triumph for a woman who has been a pioneer in california politics, but it was tragedy, not triumph that catapulted her career. the year was 1978, san francisco board of supervisors president diane feinste

i know we have a representative from diane feinstein's office. could you raise your hand? where are you? [applause] thank you so much. within two days we had a letter from senator feinstein that was sent to the shanghai office of foreign owe fares urging their support and expediting the paperwork. now with this very official letter, we worked with the vice counsel of the chinese consulate and of the shrank high -- shanghai office of foreign affairs, and the director of the asian arts music and his director. we refer to mrs. yang of the shanghai cultural association. i want to say that the shanghai team and others finalized the paperwork, obtained the customs cleernls, not with a moment to spare. we had already missed two boats. this was the last boat in order for us to make this dedication. with that, with the mayor's future and schedule, who knew if we would ever get this gathering together. we are really pleased that it all worked out. i had a terrific professional team of staff at the arts commission. smart problem solvers with a good sense of humor. i would like to sing