Chelsea Clinton.

Corbis

helsea Clinton easily could have ended up like Lindsay Lohan, says Isia Jasiewicz in Newsweek. In fact, she may be the "first American since Shirley Temple" to grow up a household name without crashing and burning. And Chelsea had it tougher than most, debuting on the national stage when "she was an awkward 12-year-old with frizzy hair and braces." Then she watched her parents deal with crisis after crisis, from Paula Jones to Whitewater. But Chelsea survived, and flourished. That's why, behind all the gossip and glitz, this is one celebrity wedding where Americans feel genuine affection for the bride. Here, an excerpt:

Chelsea Clinton’s wedding is not a fairytale, because her life hasn’t been sugarcoated. The most enduring image Americans have of her is also the most melancholy: a college freshman clutching both her parents’ hands on the lawn of the White House, literally holding them together as their marriage teeters on the verge of falling apart.

But Chelsea’s nuptials can still be a happy ending, if not a happily ever after. Here’s hoping that the wedding will give us a new, more joyful picture of Chelsea, and that somewhere in the midst of the media frenzy, we’ll find a moment to be happy for her, and with her.

Read the full article at Newsweek.