Hillary Clinton Deals With Her Husband’s Transgressions
In the 15 years since leaving the White House, Bill Clinton has become one of the most beloved political figures in the country and Hillary Clinton has been an inspiration to many women as a U.S. senator, secretary of state and two-time presidential candidate. But like a slap in the face, Donald Trump’s snarling comments about Bill Clinton’s sexual misconduct awoke Americans to long forgotten accusations about how Mrs. Clinton responded to them, sometimes questioning the women’s veracity and character. Should Mrs. Clinton’s actions and statements at that time be held against her as a presidential candidate now, when such actions are criticized by feminists as “victim blaming”?
* trangression = 위반, 범죄; (종교, 도덕적) 죄/ beloved = 총애 받는; 인기 많은/ political figure = 정치적 인물, 정치인/ inspiration = 영감[감화/자극/고무]을 주는 사람[것]/ senator = 상원 의원/ secretary of state = 국무 장관/ slap in the face = 모욕; 실망시키는 행위; 낙담하거나 실망시키거나 하는 행위/ snarl = (화가 나거나 기분이 나빠서) 으르렁거리다[으르렁거리듯 말하다]/ long forgotten = 오래 전에 잊혀진/ veracity = 진실성/ feminist = 남녀 평등 주의자/ victim blaming = 피해자 책임전가
남편의 과거 행동에 대한 힐러리 클린턴의 행동과 진술이 오늘날 그녀에게 비난되어야 하나요?
1. It’s Always the Woman’s Fault
Blaming the wife for the husband’s dalliances is an old old story that is being given a faux-feminist gloss today.
2. Hillary Clinton’s Inconsistencies Are Fair Game
Her method of standing by her man, by engaging in what we would now call victim-shaming, is problematic today.
3. Americans Put Too Much Weight in Romantic Love
While Hillary Clinton's alleged attempts to discredit the women with whom her husband cheated may not be considered a good form of sisterhood, it could be a reasonable act of motherhood.
4. Reasonable to Ask, If the Tables Were Turned
What male candidate’s campaign would survive evidence that he helped his wife and political partner cover up a crime?
5. If It’s on Hillary, It’s on All of Us Too
Punish Hillary Clinton if you must. But ultimately her biggest sin is being a cutthroat opportunist, just like the rest of Washington’s politicos.
Sample Essay
Hillary Clinton Is Criticized Because It’s Always the Woman’s Fault
Bill Clinton’s sex life is back in the news, and this time it’s Hillary’s fault. She knew. She enabled him. She covered up for him. She said catty things about his girlfriends.
Blaming the wife for the husband’s dalliances is an old old story, of course, which is being given a faux-feminist gloss today. If she takes some credit for the successes of the Clinton administration, Ruth Marcus argued in The Washington Post, she should take the blame for Bill’s personal failings as well.
Why? The Clintons were a policy and politics team. That doesn’t make them the Mr. and Mrs. Macbeth of extramarital sex.
Please note that there is no evidence that Hillary actually did “enable” Bill’s philandering. Nor, contrary to accusations, is there any evidence that she slut-shamed Paula Jones or any of the other women who accused Bill of sexually aggressive behavior. (James Carville and other men close to Bill did make a few choice remarks.) Yes, Hillary told her best friend, Diane Blair, that Monica was a “narcissistic looney tunes,” and Blair recorded that in her private diary. What is so terrible about venting to a friend? As for covering up, Juanita Broaddrick, who claims Bill Clinton raped in her 1978 and Hillary tried to silence her by uttering a political platitude and pressing her hand in a particularly meaningful way, it seems much more likely that Hillary did what she did thousands of times at political gatherings.
What is enabling, anyway? We used to call it by other names: love, loyalty, credulousness, naivete, practicality, forgiveness, saving the marriage, protecting the children, just getting on with life. Hillary was never more popular as first lady than when she was bravely enduring the public humiliation of the Monica Lewinsky affair.
But the rules have changed. Now women who make the best of an imperfect marriage are not only still held to account for their husband's behavior -- that Hillary is a frigid harridan is still a popular theme on social media -- they are blamed as co-conspirators or doormats for not walking out the door. And they're called bad feminists for not embracing his other women. Before, she had to stay. Now, she has to leave.
She has to take the worst accusations at full value, too. We will never know the real story of what happened between Juanita Broaddrick and Bill Clinton. Kenneth Starr didn’t find her rape allegation credible, and he had every reason to promote it. But somehow Hillary should have known not only that something happened between her husband and Broaddrick, but that it was rape. How would she know that?
Meanwhile, Bill Clinton has managed to weather every storm and remains hugely popular and admired. And conservatives have finally found women whose claims of rape and harassment they believe. Everyone wins -- except for Hillary. it's always the woman's fault.
