THE HILLARYCARE MYTHOLOGY: Suddenly, we’re being told that Hillary wasn’t behind Hillarycare — it was all Bill’s idea!
The first lady was an active force in these discussions, but there was never any question that the president was in charge. We took our guidance from him. That, of course, was how it should have been (who else but the president ought to make such decisions?), except that many reporters and the public thought that Bill Clinton had handed over the policy to Hillary and that she would report back to him, which was not the case.
Presidents often downplay their own direct involvement in decision making to put some distance between themselves and policies that may eventually prove to be unsuccessful. Part of the job of cabinet members and advisors is to take the blame when things go wrong. Clinton’s appointment of his wife to chair the task force did not, however, create the necessary distance and deniability. Not only did the fiction of Hillary’s personal responsibility for the health plan fail to protect the president at the time, it has also now come back to haunt her in her own quest for the presidency.
Well, you know, tangled webs and all that. (Via Newsalert).
UPDATE: This, on the other hand, is just weird.