Former President Bill Clinton wears a campaign pin for his wife, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, as he campaigns for her on Feb. 12, 2016, at the Clifton Cultural Arts Center in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Hillary Clinton is not merely a flawed candidate – she is a pant-suited catastrophe dragging down her party.
It’s not merely that she is old chronologically, but that she has been around for so long that the collective weight of her failures, scandals and missteps make her vulnerable to a guy who proudly labels himself a “socialist.” It’s no surprise that she got thumped when the New Hampshire primary voters who value honesty/trustworthiness went 91 percent with Bernie Sanders. From big scores in cattle futures to Whitewater shenanigans to her rapacious Clinton Foundation to her Benghazi dereliction of duty to an email scandal that would have seen any lesser mortal carted off to federal prison, Hillary is a political hot mess.
And if all that is not enough, there is one more obstacle to Hillary being handed the keys to the White House that no one is talking about – yet. If America chooses Hillary, they get a heaping helping of Bill, too.
The fact is that Bill Clinton is no longer Bill Clinton, or at least not the Bill Clinton those of us remember from the 1990s. It’s been 16 years since Bill left office. Thanks to a worshipful mainstream media and the willful blindness of his fans, the same guy who lied under oath about harassing vulnerable women morphed into a lovable rogue.
Good old Bill, with his Irishman’s smile and before-it-was-cool dad bod! He sure likes Big Macs, attention, and *wink wink* the ladies!
But Bill has changed, and worse for him – and for Hillary – so have the times. His mischievous leprechaun smile now seems painted on as he is called out once again to the campaign trail to try to win his wife her own political pot of gold. His chubby frame has melted into a sickly shadow of its former self as the Big Macs gave way to a vegan diet that explains his sallow visage. And the attention once lavished upon him is now falling upon Hillary; he stands to the side, an afterthought, yearning for that spotlight to move back onto him.
But the ladies remain…does anyone harbor even the most microscopic doubt there are still eager strumpets out there today partaking of the Grandad Lothario’s wares?
Except the times have changed. What 20 years ago could be dismissed as a tacky yet endearing quirk – Oh, that’s just Bill being Bill! – is now unforgiveable. The kids today do not see the commander-in-chief’s cavorting with an awestruck intern as merely a personal foible, but as an epic breach of political correctness. Bill Clinton today is, to young people who never saw his name on a ballot, less a sexy scoundrel than a sexist villain. The utter wipeout among young people Hillary suffered in New Hampshire to Sanders – who no one will ever confuse with a player – is the result.
And it’s the further humiliation that Bill will inflict upon President Hillary that should give voters pause. There will be more women. The mainstream media will try to repeat the palace guard act of the newsmen who covered for Bill’s hero Jack Kennedy, but there’s now something called the Internet, and everyone carries a camera.
Even if Bill’s enablers could hide his harem, our culture has changed. Monica Lewinsky had to be pulled kicking and screaming into the limelight. Can anyone imagine that the next crop of hussies will be so discreet? Think of the uproar when some young tart posts a selfie of her with the ex-president in the background pulling on his golf pants.
And think of what America’s enemies will think. They aren’t so enlightened to write off a dalliance by Hillary’s spouse as a mere lifestyle choice. They will see her as weak, and they will act accordingly. That is exceedingly dangerous.
It’s a chance Americans might not be willing to take even if Hillary dog whistles her assurances that she can keep the Big Him under control. Because while he is an older Bill Clinton, he is still Bill Clinton, and Bill Clinton cannot be anything but Bill Clinton.
Kurt Schlichter is a trial lawyer, writer and retired Army colonel. Twitter: @KurtSchlichter
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