Bill Is The One Who Owes Hillary

During this political campaign, Hillary has made herself an icon for a group of women who have taken it on the chin--from men--their entire lives. They have demanded Hillary be crowned with the nomination because her victory is metaphorically theirs.

But the American people don't owe Hillary. Bill does.

Throughout their marriage and His and Hers careers, Hillary made her choices. She stayed with Bill through thick and thin, through Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Monica Lewinsky, and the rest of them.

She learned from her early First Lady "mistakes" like keeping her Rodham maiden name, which didn't sit well with Arkansans and she self-corrected by adding Clinton (before virtually dropping Rodham because Clinton was the salable brand), becoming a shining example of a modern political wife. Hillary embodied her role as the Arkansas Governor's wife well but not as a traditional one. She ushered in a new wave with new roles for First Ladies--first in Arkansas and then in Washington.

One must assume that Hillary did it for herself as well as for Bill--either as a loyal and supportive wife who wasn't planning her own post-White House political career, or one who was. Hillary was never a wallflower. She made definitive decisions.

Why would she or her supporters want her to play the victim? Why not revel in her historic success? Someone always has to lose in sports, political races, or in other competitions and gambits of life. This does not make one a loser. In some way, it opens other doors. Look what Al Gore has done with the one that swung open for him.

The Clintons won their White House, and a majority of the American people showered them with good wishes and praise while the rest venomously reviled them. The great sadness is that many of those who unconditionally loved them--despite all the trauma and drama they brought to their supporters, party, and country--have lost their love and respect for them now.

Throughout it all, Hillary has made her own choices. She ran her race and lost it. This country has paid its debt to the Clintons. It's her husband who owes her.

Beth Arnold lives and writes in Paris. To see more of her work, check out www.betharnold.com.