The Bride at Every Wedding

So Bill and Hillary did not invite Barack and Michelle to Chelsea's wedding. No surprise there. As the author of a book on Bill Clinton's post presidency that covered Bill's fury as Barack took the nomination from the woman Bill felt was entitled to have it, I strongly suspect that Bill doesn't much like the new President.

But also, Bill being Bill, he didn't want another "rock star" at the gathering who would draw attention away from what should, in a way, be Bill's day. Well, Chelsea's day, of course, but Bill's too. He's the one, after all, who came back big from impeachment and ridicule and, in his mind, poverty.

Some years ago, I wrote a book about Theodore Roosevelt's firstborn, Alice, and one of my favorite of Alice's many quips was aimed at her father.

On St. Patrick's Day 1905, Teddy's niece Eleanor married a member of the other branch (Hyde Park as opposed to Oyster Bay ) of the Roosevelt family. Eleanor's father, Elliott, had earlier died a scandalous death -- suffering an attack of delirium tremens in the apartment of his mistress -- so it fell to Teddy, then in his first full term as President, to give away his niece.

The wedding was held in the Manhattan home of a Roosevelt relative, and, as Alice noted, when Teddy entered the room all attention shifted from the bride to the President. "My father always has to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral," Alice later observed. After the ceremony, T.R. slapped the groom on the back -- "Well, Franklin, there's nothing like keeping the name in the family" -- and made a beeline for the dining room, the guests following, leaving Eleanor and Franklin standing alone.

T.R. loved attention, adulation, being in "the arena." Sound familiar?

Would the Obamas have attended? Probably not, because, as President Obama correctly told the ladies of The View, this is about Chelsea.

It is, trust me, also about Bill.

 

 

 

Comments

[ChaCubed]

02:05 PM on 08/01/2010

Ewwww, I need a shower to wash off the ick. This article/writer confirms what I have learned from personal experience: only untrustworthy people say, "Trust me."

[a guy called gerald]

07:42 AM on 08/01/2010

As far as I know its the bride and the groom who invite and not their parent. Or at least it should be that way. Have you invited your mothers boss to your wedding? No? Then you have to have a egocentric, vain father.

But I guess the article is not about the wedding, it's just an advertisement for your two books

[naschkatze]

12:29 PM on 07/31/2010

True and sad. A wedding day should be the bride's day to shine.

[soupcity]

10:12 AM on 07/31/2010

Well, Carol, maybe you'd be happy if Bill stayed home. Nasty.

[BethinIllinois]

08:49 AM on 07/31/2010

And maybe Bill Clinton wants the spotlight that should be afforded the father of the bride today? It's the Clinton party today, and has nothing to do with Obama. Glad he won't be there.

[naschkatze]

12:30 PM on 07/31/2010

The spotlight is on the bride. How many other fathers-of-the-bride can you name who horn in on their duaghters' big days?

[tiredofwaiting]

01:29 PM on 07/31/2010

well said!

[trainunderwater]

06:58 AM on 07/31/2010

I don't see what's classless about this. Would you rather read a puff piece filled with typical political nonsense about Bill Clinton's love for his daughter? And why is it so unbelievable that Bill Clinton and Teddy Roosevelt both crave attention? I didn't realize critical observations were "tacky," lee4713.

[lee4713]

07:04 PM on 07/31/2010

My "critical" observation is that this article says more about the author than it does about Bill Clinton.

[Ugonna]

11:10 PM on 07/30/2010

sigh...stop trying to start trouble.

[lee4713]

08:37 PM on 07/30/2010

So Teddy is Bill and Eleanor is Chelsea? Not buying it. And wasn't it Alice who said, "if you can't say something nice, come sit by me"? Pretty tacky to not give President Clinton the benefit of the doubt at the wedding of his only child.

[clarendon67]

08:37 PM on 07/30/2010

This article is a piece of mean spirited garbage. Seeing you didn't have anything constructive to say, you should have shut your trap and we wouldn't know you are a fool.

[GinaCucina]

07:55 PM on 07/30/2010

Hmmmm... Well, at least Chelsea has class.