Today the New York Times reports on the Clinton marriage and how it might affect Hillary’s prospects in 2008. The paper notes that the couple have been leading largely separate lives, "partly because of the demands of their distinct career paths and partly as a result of political calculations." Naturally, The Times doesn't state the obvious, that maybe one of the biggest reasons why Bill and Hill are spending 14 days a month on average together is the fact that they plain just don't like each other. Their spokesmen, Jay Carson (Bill's) and Philippe Reines (Hill's), provided a statement about the relationship:
"She is an active senator who, like most members of Congress, has to be in Washington for part of most weeks. He is a former president running a multimillion-dollar global foundation. But their home is in New York, and they do everything they can to be together there or at their house in D.C. as often as possible - often going to great lengths to do so. When their work schedules require that they be apart they talk all the time."
The Times also described the conundrum that Mrs. Clinton faces in regard to her husband. While most observers would argue that it is in her best interests that Bill be visibly and prominently involved in any potential presidential race, "Mrs. Clinton may be the only Democrat in America who cannot look at Bill Clinton as an unalloyed political asset." Along these lines, several prominent New York Democrats voiced concern over Bill's tendency to stray, and cited a tabloid photograph showing Hillary's husband leaving a Manhattan restaurant with Belinda Stronach, an attractive blonde Canadian politician. Even though "the two were among roughly a dozen people at a dinner…it still was enough to fuel coverage in the gossip pages."
In the end, it appears Hillary is walking a thin and delicate line, needing her husband's prodigious political talents but being extremely wary of his risk-taking behavior. As an anonymous friend observed, "She needs to be in her own separate orbit, so if something explodes in his world, she will have at least some space and distance to manage it."
