The Political Fiend

I think it might be about time to have one of those mother-daughter talks.

Last week at Butler University, Chelsea Clinton was asked by a student, a Hillary supporter, whether the Lewinsky scandal injured the then First Lady politically. Chelsea rebuffed the question with something along the lines of “It’s none of your business”. Fair enough; she’d never been asked the question before, and it seemed harmless to dismiss it; her response garnered cheers from the audience, who apparently agreed. One week later, at North Carolina State University the question again reared its ugly head, only to have it lopped off by Chelsea, who responded in the same manner as before.

It’s a real shame too; Chelsea is in the unique position to field questions that no self respecting journalist would ask Hillary herself. She could have taken the question and delivered a well spun answer about her mother’s personal integrity and resolve, while giving a nod to Bill for working toward patching things up. Instead, Chelsea’s defensive responses are going to keep the issue alive. The first time the question popped up, it came without explanation. The second time, the poser said he was asking because it was a public matter involving a then currently serving president; though I’m not sure that I agree, it would seem that an opportunity has been squandered here. Now that Chelsea has refused to furnish an answer, the question becomes that much more tempting, ensuring that it stays at the tips of people’s tongues, and at the media’s fore — exactly where Obama and McCain want it to be.

Photo by Anand M. Dhingra used under a Creative Commons license.