They just hate to bring up Monica --- but they have no choice
by digby
The Wall Street Journal wants you to know that they are not concerned at all about Bill Clinton's sex life. They're just worried for poor Hillary Clinton that the Monica Lewinsky scandal will remind voters of that awful time of partisan polarization back in the 1990s. Unlike today, when everyone's getting along just famously.
What this means for the the poor "Mrs Clinton" (Apparently she doesn't get to keep her titles of Secretary or Senator ...) won't be allowed to mention her new granddaughter because that will make everyone think of Bill and Monica and then she'll lose.
And anyway, we need someone who can bridge the partisan divide and that obviously can only be a Republican.
Monica Lewinsky isn’t going away.
The ex-White House intern whose affair with Bill Clinton nearly sank his presidency has emerged from seclusion and is tweeting, writing and delivering speeches. On Monday, she joined Twitter (@MonicaLewinsky) and put out her first 140-character message: “#HereWeGo.” A day later she had nearly 64,000 followers.
So, there’s an audience for what Ms. Lewinsky has to say.
Is this trouble for the Clintons? Could it complicate Hillary Clinton‘s likely presidential bid?
Yes — though not for reasons you might think.
It’s doubtful Ms. Lewinsky has salacious new stories to share about her dalliance with the ex-president in the mid-1990s. The Starr report covered that ground in unsparing detail.
But there’s another consideration. Ms. Lewinsky’s reappearance is a reminder of a deeply polarizing period in American politics. And that does Mrs. Clinton no favors as she girds for a possible campaign.
Polls already suggest Mrs. Clinton isn’t a unifying figure who can bridge the partisan divide that has bedeviled President Barack Obama.
[...]
Family will be a major theme in a Clinton presidential bid. She is advancing policy ideas aimed at fortifying families who are struggling in a tough economy.
With Ms. Lewinsky back on the scene, voters are inevitably reminded of the drama and stresses in Mrs. Clinton’s own family.
In a speech she gave in Philadelphia this week, Ms. Lewinsky mentioned her affair with the 42nd president: “I fell in love with my boss in a 22-year-old sort of way.”
Elections, as they say, are about the future. Mrs. Clinton has no wish to be reminded of this painful part of her past.