The L Word

To the male readers of this blog, I'm not talking about lesbians here. I'm talking about a different L-word, that being Lewinsky. For the second time in about a week, Chelsea Clinton has been asked about the Monica Lewinsky scandal while stumping for her mom. In both cases, her response has been "It's none of your business."

And in both cases, she's wrong.

At the heart of the question is how Hillary Clinton reacted to the Lewinsky scandal becoming public knowledge. Although there is an element of the personal involved, it also speaks to how well Hillary would react in a stressful situation. And let's face it, being President isn't a cakewalk. Chelsea can't go around extolling her mother's ability to lead while at the same time dodging a question that hits at the heart of that notion. It makes Hillary look weak and dishonest, and makes Chelsea look unprepared and, judging from the video footage of both times she's handled the question, more than a little elitist.

And, really, that's what's driving this denial. I have no doubt that Hillary and her campaign have schooled Chelsea on how to handle this situation by deflecting it as a personal question. Most people would accept that, given what they remember of the Lewinsky scandal. However, just because most people accept it as a personal question doesn't make it completely out of bounds. I haven't heard the exact question from the second time Chelsea was asked about the Lewinsky scandal, but I have heard the first question, and it asked point blank whether Hillary's credibility was hurt by her reaction to the Lewisnky scandal. Given what had come out just a week or so before outlining what Hillary was doing behind the scenes at that point in history, it's a legitimate question.

A legitimate question that, as of this writing, has not been answered, and probably won't because it would expose Hillary as what she is: unfit to lead.