-Caveat Lector- from: http://www.smh.com.au/news/0011/03/features/features2.html Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.smh.com.au/news/0011/03/features/features2.html">Houdini Hillary and Bill four years from a Whit�</A> ---- - FEATURES & ARTS Houdini Hillary and Bill four years from a White House return 'Two for the price of one' - political fantasy (or prophesy?) as the Clintons look towards a New York Senatorial victory and 2004, asks Jennifer Hewett. When he was campaigning for the White House eight long years ago, Bill Clinton liked to joke that people were getting two for the price of one. The joke went horribly flat after Bill took it seriously and appointed Hillary to reform health care. The White House ended up with a political debacle and the deeply unpopular Hillary was dispatched to deep background. She only really re-emerged in 1998 - courtesy of Monica - when she got to play the Much Wronged Wife defending her husband no matter what. Talk about revenge. It now seems more than likely that we are going to see Senator Hillary Clinton, of New York. This should make Bill feel a little better about the prospect of Al Gore losing the unlosable election and squandering what he sees as the grand Clinton legacy. Instead, we'd all have the good senator to burnish the Clinton myth. Not to mention all the hype about Hillary using her victory to try for the White House in 2004. Oh dear. Just imagine all the trouble Bill could get into if returned to the White House as First Gentleman. The political psychologists would be beside themselves. The Clintons have already made the insides of the White House far more riveting than television rip-offs of real life such as Survivor. Act II could only become extraordinary essential daily viewing. All right, all right, this may be entering the realm of democratic fantasy, but the most remarkable thing about the Clinton twosome is that they are now both proven political Houdinis. What seems ridiculous or downright impossible becomes another amazing feat of escape and reinvention. Bill Clinton managed to slip right through the Monica Lewsinky scandal and out the other side, mocking everyone who had predicted his demise. Yes, most people don't think much of his character - particularly Hillary's former wife-in- arms, Tipper Gore - but he remains a highly popular President. No guilt here that can't be immediately expiated by dropping into a black church for forgiveness. Bill's latest trick was to suggest happily that seeing that he'd said sorry about the Lewinsky mess, it was time for Republicans to apologise. Cut to image of Gore family, teeth clenching. For most of this campaign, Al I'm-my-own-man Gore has treated his colleague as if Clinton has political halitosis. Mistake. Even though Clinton stirs some people to incandescent rage, their numbers are overwhelmed by the power of the presidential personality and the general feeling that the US has done well with him in the White House. He still sounds inspiring even if he has proved that words don't mean much other than the seamless spinning of illusion. If he could run for the presidency again, he would probably win. The Hillary picture is as complicated. She, too, has a large core of people who hate her with great passion - a passion she reciprocates. In this most unlikely campaign, though, she has managed to veer away from such obsessions and concentrate on persuading New Yorkers she cares about their issues. Smile sympathetically now. In terms of marketing, her successful relaunch can only be applauded. She has always had some of the Gore problem - lecturing people on detail in a way that is always vaguely irritating and know-all. But, unlike Al, she has proved quicker at learning campaign tricks from the master. She now connects personally with voters, helped by the fact that they know so much about the dreadful details of her marriage. It becomes harder to describe her as imperious and easier to consider her dignified in the face of humiliation. It's also true that she got lucky when Republican mayor Rudy Giuliani dropped out of the race. Despite the image problems of trigger happy police, he's admired for cleaning up New York City and would have undermined Hillary's strength there. Relentlessly suburban Rick Lazio doesn't have the star power to compete. Of course, Bill as senatorial spouse won't be quite the same as Bill as President, but don't expect him to fade away either. If Gore loses, the Democrats will be in despair. Clinton will be the best known national leader left standing. If Gore wins, Bill will be irrepressible and certain to claim his share of the credit. He will certainly be the perfect partner for Senator Clinton, saving the world in Washington. Think of it as two for the price of one. Copyright � 2000. The Sydney Morning Herald All rights reserved. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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