The bake-off was an attempt to appeal to stay at home moms following her
controversial response to California governor Jerry Brown’s criticism that she owed her professional success to her husband, Bill. “I could have stayed home and baked cookies and had tea,” she told a reporter in a soundbite that was reported around the world. “But what I decided to do was fulfill my profession.” Many women responded with outrage, and perhaps that’s why, shortly thereafter, Clinton participated in the traditional Family Circle first lady bake-off. And won.
Clinton’s cookies are good: my best friend’s mom used to make them for her school lunches. No doubt Hillary could have won any number of bake-offs with her recipe, but politics have paid off far more for her: in less than a year, she may be the first female president of the United States. But if that happens, she won’t be the only one breaking a gender barrier: her husband Bill will step into a role no man has ever held before. So what kind of first lady will Bill Clinton be? (Besides, of course, a manly one).
Different women leveraged the position in different ways: some argue that Lady Bird Johnson was the first to modernize the job when she campaigned on behalf of her husband Lyndon B Johnson in the mid 60s, but others wielded significant political clout before her. Eleanor Roosevelt’s work as a writer, activist, public speaker and social reformer is perhaps most famous. But other notably hard-working first ladies include Florence Harding, wife of Warren G, a passionate suffragette who edited all of her husband’s important speeches and pushed hard to influence his appointments.
But when Hillary Clinton moved into the White House in 1993, she was not granted the same flexibility. As the chair of the Task Force on National Health Care reform, she was slammed in the press for stepping beyond the reaches of her role, in spite of her clear qualifications to work on policy: the implication was that she was being unladylike. To many Americans, the revelations about her husband’s extramarital sexual proclivities confirmed their belief that Hillary was failing to fulfill the remit of the first lady: to be a pleasant and decorative hostess who represents a “traditional” and anachronistic family: a man in charge, a faithful and helpful woman by his side (even though a number of other presidents and first ladies have also had notable affairs). Indeed, Clinton blamed the affair in part on herself for failing as a wife.
Though Bill Clinton's waggish reply - "First Laddie!" "1st First Gentleman!"- is
more a confirmation of his political professionalism (make a joke, reach out to wavering voters of Scottish ancestry) than useful, it is a question he will have to consider if Hillary makes it to the White House.
First ladies of yore took their time: not until 1877, nearly 90 years after George Washington became the first US president, did they settle on First Lady, having called themselves "Lady", "Mrs President", "Mrs Presidentress", even "Queen". But these days it would be a dereliction of duty if a tabloid journalist did not come up with a name for him in the first 24 hours - so Bill would be well advised to get in first.
There have been several non-wives who served as "first ladies." Presidents Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, and John Tyler all had wives who died either before they were elected or while they were in office. In these cases, a close female relative, like a daughter or a niece, took on the position. James Buchanan was the only president to enter and leave the White House as a bachelor. He adopted his orphan niece, Harriet Lane, and appointed her to handle the First Lady's business.
The most generally suggested term is 1st First Gentleman. As that's also what the husbands of the female governors of Michigan and Alaska call themselves, perhaps they could gracefully step aside. Other countries have ducked the issue - in Ireland, Mary McAleese's husband is generally called Dr Martin McAleese, the president's husband; Angela Merkel's spouse, a quantum chemist, is so unwilling to have anything to do with her job that he was once nicknamed "the Phantom of the Opera" by the German press. But both the Philippines and India have First Gentlemen, so maybe Bill could join them, and make a club of three. Just so long as he's not called First Partner. Or, heaven forfend, First Spouse.
Bill Clinton signaled his strategy for dealing with Donald's Trump's attacks on
his personal conduct Tuesday: ignore, and move on.
On a campaign swing through Puerto Rico Tuesday, the former president was asked by a reporter whether he had any response to Trump's latest attack on Twitter -- alluding to his past infidelities and charging that he was the "worst abuser" of women in U.S. political history.
Even for Trump, the anything-goes showman whose insults left rivals reeling in the GOP primaries, the attacks have a searing personal dimension, pushing boundaries and forcing his presumed Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to relive the humiliation of her husband’s adultery.
Given Trump’s own extramarital dalliances along his tabloid-chronicled path from his first wife to his second and third, the tactic could backfire. But it serves strategic goals for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump
Amazing that Crooked Hillary can do a hit ad on me concerning women when her husband was the WORST abuser of woman in U.S. political history
After Trump tweeted about the Clinton scandals of the 1990s earlier this month, Hillary Clinton was asked during a campaign appearance in Virginia whether she would attempt to correct the record on his provocations.
"I am going to let him run his campaign however he chooses," she said. "I have nothing to say about him and how he is running his campaign."
Her campaign stuck to that approach Tuesday, issuing no formal response to Trump's trolling on Twitter.
Donald J. Trump escalated his attacks on former President Bill Clinton’s past
in an interview on Wednesday with Sean Hannity on Fox News, bringing up an old allegation of rape.
Discussing a recent New York Times article regarding Mr. Trump’s history with women, Mr. Hannity led Mr. Trump down a line of questioning, naming women who had accused Mr. Clinton of sexual misconduct.
“For example, I looked at The New York Times,” Mr. Hannity said. “Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick? Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Willey?”
He continued: “In one case, it’s about exposure. In another case, it’s about groping and fondling and touching against a woman’s will.”
Mr Trump appeared to be referencing the claims of Juanita Broaddrick, who alleged in 1999 that Mr Clinton had raped her two decades earlier.
Mrs Broaddrick was also interviewed on Tuesday, and said that the allegations against Mr Clinton were not receiving sufficient attention. She also implicated Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump's probable general election opponent.
"I feel like she has been the enabler behind him, in allowing him to continue on the same path that he did back in the 70's and 80's and 90's," she told Breitbart, the right-wing website. "He has absolutely no morals when it comes to women."
Nick Merrill, the traveling press secretary for the Clinton campaign, likened Mr. Trump’s latest allegations to “doing what he does best, attacking when he feels wounded and dragging the American people through the mud for his own gain.”
Mr. Merrill added: “If that’s the kind of campaign he wants to run, that’s his choice. Hillary Clinton is running a campaign to be president for all of America. It’s not surprising that after a week of still refusing to release his taxes and likening Oakland and Ferguson to the dangers in Iraq, of course he wants to change the subject. So while he licks his wounds, we’ll continue to focus on improving the lives of the American people.”
Former President of the United States Bill Clinton speaks at Bonita Vista High
School Saturday on behalf of his wife, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Chula Vista — Former President Bill Clinton on Saturday told an adoring crowd that Hillary Clinton “has the best economic ideas” that can "help us all rise together."
He said his wife, the Democratic presidential candidate, and her opponent Bernie Sanders have debated the important issues facing the country, and made no mention of Sanders’ increasing criticism of Hillary Clinton as the campaign heads toward the California primary June 7.
Sanders plans a rally starting at 7:30 P.M. Saturday at National City’s Kimball Park and another in Vista Sunday afternoon.
Bill Clinton told hundreds of people in the Bonita Vista High School gym — and hundreds more in an outdoor overflow area where his comments were piped in — that they needed to help deliver a big win and the necessary delegates to allow Hillary Clinton to clinch the nomination before the summer Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
Bill Clinton told hundreds of people in the Bonita Vista High School gym — and hundreds more in an outdoor overflow area where his comments were piped in — that they needed to help deliver a big win and the necessary delegates to allow Hillary Clinton to clinch the nomination before the summer Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
On Saturday, he reiterated that Hillary Clinton wants college students to be able to refinance student loans, and allow them to volunteer for public service for three years to get debt relief — which he added will make it easier for them to move out of their parents’ homes.
That was particularly well received by a crowd that was decidedly younger than the one earlier this month.
He suggested Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and New York senator, would do the best job of helping the country welcome people regardless of where they are from and who they are. He added the country needs to eliminate discrimination against the LGBT community and people with disabilities.
Without mentioning Donald Trump, Clinton railed against the presumptive Republican nominee’s proposal to build a wall along the length of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Hillary Clinton, for the first time since launching her campaign, declared
herself the inevitable nominee of the Democratic party, having held off a surprisingly strong challenge from her progressive rival, Bernie Sanders. While Clinton has maintained a comfortable lead in both delegates and votes, her opponent has refused to bow out of the primary race even as his path to the nomination narrowed. Today, Clinton said her pledged delegate lead is “insurmountable” and concluded that Sanders is no longer a barrier on her path to the nomination.
She cited his proposal to temporarily bar Muslims from entering American borders, his comments about diminishing the United States’ involvement in NATO and his remarks that he would negotiate directly with the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, as evidence of how “unmoored” Mr. Trump is on foreign policy.
This month, when MSNBC asked a similar question, Mrs. Clinton said that Mr. Trump had “given no indication that he understood the gravity of the responsibilities that go with being commander in chief.” But she stopped short of emphatically declaring that he was unqualified.
Mrs. Clinton’s statements come as she encounters a lingering threat for the Democratic nomination from Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, whose supporters have become increasingly antagonistic toward her candidacy. Despite recent primary wins by Mr. Sanders, his path to the party’s nomination appears mathematically impossible, a fact Mrs. Clinton sought to make abundantly clear.
“I will be the nominee of our party, Chris,” she told Mr. Cuomo. “There is no way I won’t be.”
On Thursday afternoon, Michael Briggs, a spokesman for Mr. Sanders, said in a statement that his candidate’s recent victories in Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon showed that voters there “respectfully disagreed with Secretary Clinton.” He added, “We expect voters in the remaining eight contests also will disagree,” and said that some polls showing Mr. Sanders faring better than Mrs. Clinton against Mr. Trump made it “clear that millions of Americans have growing doubts about the Clinton campaign.”
Throughout the interview, Mrs. Clinton appeared ready to put the primaries behind her and move on to Mr. Trump. Asked if she would consider naming Mr. Sanders her vice-presidential nominee, in an effort to unify the party and bring in his liberal and young supporters, she demurred.
Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his
attacks on former President Bill Clinton, accusing him of rape in a Fox News interview Wednesday.
In an interview on Fox News’s “Hannity,” Sean Hannity compared allegations of Trump harassing women that appeared in The New York Times with accusations made against the former president.
“For example, I looked at The New York Times. Are they going to interview Juanita Broaddrick? Are they going to interview Paula Jones? Are they going to interview Kathleen Willey?" Hannity said, listing women who have made allegations of sexual misconduct against Clinton.
“In one case, it's about exposure,” he continued. “In another case, it's about groping and fondling and touching against a woman's will.”
“And rape,” Trump responded.
“And rape,” Hannity said.
"And big settlements, massive settlements," Trump continued. "And lots of other things.
In an interview with Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity, Trump was answering questions about an unflattering story published this past weekend by The New York Times involving his relationships with women when he turned his attention to Bill Clinton.
"By the way, you know, it's not like the worst things, OK," Trump said. "You look at what Clinton's gone through with all of the problems and all of the things that he's done."
Hannity went on to question whether the newspaper would interview women including Juanita Broaddrick, Paula Jones and Kathleen Willey. All three have accused Bill Clinton of sexual misconduct.
The real estate mogul has lashed out at the Clintons in the past over the former president’s infidelities, going so far as to call his wife, Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton, an “enabler.”
But until now, he had stopped short of accusing Bill Clinton of rape.
In 1999, Broaddrick, a former nursing home employee, accused Clinton of raping her decades earlier when he was a gubernatorial candidate in Arkansas.
Clinton denied the allegations through his attorney and refused to comment on them.
