The futility of resurrecting l'affaire Lewinsky

Punishing the wife for the philandering of her husband won't win Republicans many points among women

Bill and Hillary Clinton, 1998
(Image credit: (AP Photo/Doug Mills))

Hillary Clinton's official entry into the 2016 presidential contest is all but inevitable. The former first lady, senator, and secretary of State has a commanding lead in early polling, and has spent the last four years preparing for one last shot at a return to the White House. Early leaks from Clinton organizers and big donors seem intended to intimidate any other Democrat out of the race.

If that sounds familiar, it should. Clinton made the same case early in 2007, just six years out from Bill Clinton's White House exit, and a few months after securing a second Senate term for Hillary. Her inevitability as the first woman nominated to the top of a major-party presidential ticket seemed so secure that most people dismissed Barack Obama's bid as laying the groundwork for a later presidential run, or as leverage to be Hillary's running mate. Democrats, most political observers assumed, wanted a return to the Clinton era and the past glories of the 1990s.

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Edward Morrissey

Edward Morrissey has been writing about politics since 2003 in his blog, Captain's Quarters, and now writes for HotAir.com. His columns have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Post, The New York Sun, the Washington Times, and other newspapers. Morrissey has a daily Internet talk show on politics and culture at Hot Air. Since 2004, Morrissey has had a weekend talk radio show in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and often fills in as a guest on Salem Radio Network's nationally-syndicated shows. He lives in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota with his wife, son and daughter-in-law, and his two granddaughters. Morrissey's new book, GOING RED, will be published by Crown Forum on April 5, 2016.