The Democrats’ taboo

What happened

For the second time in two weeks, a college student asked Chelsea Clinton about the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The candidate’s daughter, who has campaigned for her mother, Hillary Clinton, at dozens of campuses, said, “It’s none of your business.” When pressed by the North Carolina State University student, she added, “I don’t think you should vote for or against my mother because of my father.” (CNN.com)

What the commentators said

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The Clintons clearly won’t be talking about this subject, said Sheldon Alberts in Canada.com. A Barack Obama supporter who brought up Lewinsky’s infamous blue dress had to quickly apologize as the Clinton camp accused their rivals of stooping to dirty politics. Democrats were shocked, as “such attacks have long been the near-exclusive domain of conservative Republicans.” Within the Democratic family, Lewinsky remains taboo.

Hillary shouldn’t be afraid of the “now ancient Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal,” said Richard Sammon in a Kiplinger.com blog. “But the Clintons might do themselves a big favor by taking on the Monica questions directly. Handled well, Clinton could benefit.” By addressing the “legitimate” question of “whether lingering bitterness” over the way Republicans used the issue to try to destroy her husband, Clinton can “easily point to numerous bipartisan deals she has led in Congress with Republicans” as proof that she can set aside “old grudges” to get the job done.

These questions are certainly “lacking in taste,” said Jenice Armstrong in the Philadelphia Daily News. But “they aren’t completely meritless.” But Chelsea isn’t the one to ask about the scandal, or about Hillary’s decision to stand by her man. “Why don’t you hear people posing similar questions to the former president or Sen. Hillary Clinton? Chelsea was an innocent bystander in all this.”