Populist Reform of the Democratic Party

It doesn't seem as though a kid just wins a trip to DC and comes home with a ticket to ride for the rest of his life. I think, normally, you shake hands, get an autograph, maybe a tour. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_Nation

It seems like even getting chosen for that would be a coveted plum that would require at least a good word from someone. And then, while on this heavily scheduled week long tip, to form such a instant bond with the US Senator from your state that you follow him to Oxford, and follow him into teaching at Arkansas University and follow him into politics. It's a lot, unless you had contacts to begin with.

Here's another tidbit from Fulbright's wiki:

Fulbright hired James McDougal as a local staffer. While working for Fulbright, McDougal met President Bill Clinton and the two of them began investing, in what ultimately ended in the Whitewater investigation.[24]

In November 1993, David Hale, the source of criminal allegations against Bill Clinton in the Whitewater controversy, alleged that Clinton, while governor of Arkansas, pressured him to provide an illegal $300,000 loan to Susan McDougal, the partner of the Clintons in the Whitewater land deal.[76] A U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation did result in convictions against the McDougals for their role in the Whitewater project, but the Clintons themselves were never charged, and Clinton maintains innocence in the affair.