Bill Clinton mysteriously glossed over the last years of his presidency during Hillary convention speech


In his long, effusive speech on why Americans should elect Hillary Clinton as America's 45th president, former President Bill Clinton talked a lot about his wife's qualifications and what he has learned from her and about her in their 45 years together. He talked about their courtship, their wedding, Hillary's water breaking at daughter Chelsea's birth, her various jobs on commissions, and her stints as a U.S. senator and secretary of state. He did not mention anything between 1997 and 1999, when Clinton was approached about running for an open Senate seat.
Now, Clinton also skipped the late 1980s, and maybe Hillary was busy adjusting to life as an empty-nester after Chelsea left for college. But the last few years of Bill's presidency were hardly uneventful. Twitter was coy:
Cable news talking heads were more explicit, and The Atlantic's Ron Fournier forewent the niceties. In an otherwise "uneven but effective" speech, he writes, Bill Clinton "left one big hole in the retelling of his family story: the pain he caused his wife by cheating on her with a White House intern, an affair that became public in a most humiliating way." Yes, oddly, in talking about how wonderful his wife is, Bill Clinton left out Monica Lewinsky. Of course, Twitter is never of one mind on anything, and there was a clear "there's a time and place" sentiment as well.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It is going to be a long few months until the election.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
8 of the best ‘cozy crime’ series of all time
The Week Recommends Murder mysteries don’t necessarily have to make us miserable, and these shows have perfected a feel-good crime formula
-
Youth revolts rattle Morocco as calls against corruption grow louder
THE EXPLAINER Snowballing controversy over World Cup construction and civic services has become a serious threat to Morocco’s political stability
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US