Blue Star Chronicles

A new book about the Clinton’s marriage is out and its a pretty brutal account of why the Clintons have stayed married all these years - and how they have built the Clinton machine that got them to power and keeps them there.

Sixteen years ago this month, just as Bill was facing his first presidential primaries, a woman called Connie Hamzy told Penthouse magazine that he had propositioned her in a hotel lobby. He acknowledged that he knew her, but denied any impropriety.

Hillary’s reaction was chillingly succinct: “We have to destroy her story.”

Connie Hamzy faded away, only to be replaced by a queue of other women claiming sexual relationships with Bill.

And throughout it all his wife stayed at his side, apparently supporting his denials and usually helping him try to silence or rebut the stories of women who claimed anything from sexual harassment and assault to 12-year affairs.

Take the time a supermarket tabloid named no fewer than five mistresses, including a nightclub singer, Gennifer Flowers

When the story broke, Hillary was campaigning elsewhere, so Bill called her to warn her.

After the conversation, according to one report, “there was no scorn or sense of betrayal in her voice; she had long since accepted her husband’s past and focused on winning a political future that would reward them both.”

Indeed, Hillary gave a TV interview in which she said her husband’s dealings with Flowers had an entirely innocent explanation: “Anybody who knows my husband knows that he bends over backwards to help people who are in trouble and is always willing to listen to their problems.” American reporters promptly backed off.

Much later, Bill finally admitted under oath that he had indeed been involved sexually with Flowers - “a relationship that I should not have had.”

Did Hillary know this at the time the scandal erupted? If so, she gave no sign.

Like her husband, she took offence whenever anyone publicly doubted her word. But after the Flowers episode, she secretly worked with New York lawyer Susan Thomases and Wright to contain any more “bimbo eruptions.”

Subsequently, Jack Palladino, a San Francisco private detective, was secretly paid $100,000 to dig up dirt on a number of women who were likely to be trouble.

The idea was that, out of fear of exposure of their private lives, they would be convinced to sign affidavits denying they had been sexually involved with Bill.

“The Clintons were saying: ‘This is the only way to fight them,’” said Arkansas lawyer Webster Hubbell, who helped the search.

“Anyone who criticised the Clintons, we wanted to know what was in their background and what might be in their closet. It was: ‘Who did she sleep with and who were her boyfriends?’”

These were tough tactics. But whether or not the Clintons love each other in the way of most happily married couples, there is no doubt about their commitment to the pursuit of political power.

In fact, for more than three decades this is what has bound them together when other aspects of their lives showed signs of crumbling.

Contrary to what the left continually asserts - its not just about sex. Its not about Bill’s compulsion to use his power to seduce women or Hillary’s compulsion to help him cover it up so that it doesn’t get in the way of their quest for power. Its about their character. Its about what they are willing to do for power. And the media’s willingness to forgive and forget everything they have done that has damaged our country.

On January 21, 1993, Bill’s first full day in office, she and Bill shook some 1,800 hands in three hours.

“We just screwed all these people,” she whispered to her husband - a comment heard on network television.

About the health plan Hillary attempted to push through while she Bill was President …

She insisted on producing a complicated plan for sweeping health reforms that would guarantee medical insurance for all, but refused to consult experts who didn’t already agree with her.

Her figures were dismissed as mindbogglingly unrealistic - and even Bill, after studying the plan in detail, said: “My brain aches.”

During a trip to Massachusetts, he dared to suggest that the reforms might be watered down. Back in Washington, Hillary reacted with fury. An aide recalled how she picked up the phone and told the White House operator: “Get me the President.”

Moments later, Bill came on the line. “What the f*** are you doing up there?” she screamed. “I want to see you as soon as you get back.”

Her tone was as “hard-edged” as her advisers had ever heard. Several hours later, Bill arrived by helicopter and walked into the Diplomatic Reception Room, where an aide was waiting to escort him upstairs.

The next day, he publicly retracted his comments and even apologised, promising that he aimed to implement the reforms in full. Even so, it was only a matter of time before Hillary’s hugely unpopular plan was ignominiously dumped.

Her response? To blame a “conspiracy” - this time in the medical profession.

Its an interesting read. The sources for the story are close aids and people from the Clinton’s inner circle, like David Gergen, Robert Boorstin, George Stephanopoulos and Dee Dee Myers. If you are interested, you can read more here.