Patrick Healy Remembers Bill
Is this an early Valentine\’s Day column from the New York Times or are they once again being obtuse?
The Clinton marriage obsessed Patrick Healy got back to his usual beat today: the Clinton\’s marriage.
He began by stating the obvious. Bill Clinton is Hillary\’s not so secret campaign weapon.
New\’s at eleven.
Mrs. Clinton, Democrat of New York, mentioned Mr. Clinton at least eight
times on Saturday — at one point talking about “Bill’s heart
surgery” to illuminate her own travails with health care bureaucracy
— and a few times on Sunday, most memorably when she said of Republicans,
“Bill and I have beaten them before, and we will again.”For the first time in her bid for the White House, Mrs. Clinton directly
laid claim to the legacy and popularity of former President Bill Clinton —
and did so in a crucial primary state where her husband showed his resiliency
in 1992, when he finished second despite weeks of troubles.“It helps her because we know Bill Clinton and we love Bill Clinton.
We know him and his foibles. We know he loves his Dunkin’ Donuts; we
know his love for burgers,” said State Representative Patricia M. McMahon,
a longtime ally of both Clintons. “It shows that she’s human,
too, and appreciates her husband and likes him as much as we do.”(snip)
“The way she talked about him gave me a better feeling for her warmth,”
said Karen Ryan of Concord, who attended a question-and-answer forum with
the senator there on Saturday. “And the Clinton administration is a
much better memory than the one we have now.”Yet Mr. Clinton is also a potential liability… …
You know why I stopped at \”liability.\” But Healy finally got to his
main talking point, which was to once again dredge up the old Lewinsky scandal
that people like Healy are determined will follow Hillary wherever she goes.
Never mind that she\’s obviously moved on. Never mind that any marriage with
this kind of combustible confrontation has to eventually put it behind them or dissolve.
The American people must always keep that scandal close to our hearts. In the
end, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was wronged, don\’t forget it. She certainly can\’t. Healy won\’t let her, not even when she\’s running for commander in chief.
Newsflash to Mr. Healy. There are a lot of women who have experienced exactly
what Hillary has, so I\’d bet you\’re the last one who has to remind them. Remember the joke?
But what significance does Bill have today? My usual barometer is my formerly
right-wing Republican husband who wasn\’t a Clintonite in the 1990s. After leaving
all that behind before he met me, even today he remembers how good everyone
felt about the 1990s. He thinks that Hillary brings those good times back into
focus and that Bill helps her do it. This from a man who took a long time to become a Democrat, but who is
now further left than me. Ah, the converted.
Hillary Clinton has many challenges ahead. But having former President Bill
Clinton beside her isn\’t one of them. Only Patrick Healy thinks this is news. Republicans know it\’s a fact.
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