by Stephen P. Pizzo

Sure he's been pretty much home alone since this political couple left the White House in 2001. But he's been a private citizen free to indulge in the kind of things private citizens are free to indulge in. As the husband of the Vice President of the United States of America Bill will be back in the fishbowl. The last time he was in that fishbowl he hooked up with a sucker fish and... well, we all know the rest of that story.
“Authentic treachery is found when we abandon ourselves, becoming deaf to the whispers of our spirits and blind to the powerful potential therein” ( Joaquin Mariel Espinosa)

Scene: VP Hillary Clinton will spend much of her time in the Veep's office a stone's throw form the White House in the (dark and stuffy and, frankly depressing) old Executive Office Building. Out her office window she'll have a nice view of the front door leading to the Oval Office. From her vantage she would have to watch a daily procession of dignitaries and other national and international movers and shakers ushered through that door by the Marine Corp doormen for an audience with President Barack Obama.

And there she'd sit, as President Obama makes decisions he will likely only share with her after he's made them. And once made VP Hillary Clinton would be expected to publicly embrace and promote President Obama's policies — as though they were her own — only they won't be. And, should those policies prove beneficial to the nation, Obama would get the credit, not Hillary. How do you imagine that will go down? With everything we now know about Hillary and Bill Clinton, imagine that for moment. (It will only take a moment.)

“There is no act of treachery or meanness of which a political party is not capable; for in politics there is no honor.” ( Benjamin Disraeli )

Scene: It's evening. Bill and Hillary are gathered for a late dinner at the Veep's residence with long-time allies, like James Carville, Lanny Davis, Terry McAuliffe, and other familiar suspects. The topic of discussion: how to position Hillary for the next election, should Obama's approval ratings sink during his first term. This would require the risky but unavoidable tactic of leaking stories hinting that Hillary had opposed Obama policies that later became unpopular — stories she would, of course, refuse to comment on or would indicate are not "entirely accurate."

“Destiny is a good thing to accept when it's going your way. When it isn't, don't call it destiny; call it injustice, treachery, or simple bad luck.” (Joseph Heller)

Scene: Same place, same time of day, different meeting to hash out a different problem. This time the group discusses what Hillary can do to "shine on her own," outside the shadow of President Obama. The goal would be to identify positions and policies Hillary could use to attract the media attention , independent of Obama. Meetings she could hold with news-makers, world leaders, hints of policies she'd like to address outside the Obama administration's stated policy goals. All designed to portray Hillary Clinton as a hands-on Veep and get her on the nightly news, even if that means upstaging Obama.

Such tactics would leave Obama with a helluva dilemma. Should he simply allow his Veep to freelance, or should he grab Hillary by the nape of the neck and drag her off to the executive woodshed?

If he allows Hillary to freelancing the resulting news coverage would weaken the Obama presidency. After all, if he can't face down his own Veep, how can he face down America's enemies? That would be the question sweeping the news if he let's just lets Hillary be Hillary.

On the other hand if he does rein Hillary — and you gotta know the media would find out about it — then the real "fun"would begin. Bill would be furious. (Red-face furious) He would start talking to reporters "on background." Bill would again allege that Obama had won by "running a sexist campaign" and was now continuing that practice by "muzzling the first female Vice President of the United States of America."

Even if Obama laid down the law, telling Hillary she had to toe the administration line henceforth, what do you think would really happen? Imagine Hillary R. Clinton spending the next four years as an obedient junior partner, while Obama harvests all the attention.

Try to imagine that. Oh hell, go ahead, just try. I dare you.

“The zeal which begins with hypocrisy must conclude in treachery; at first it deceives, at last it betrays” ( Francis Bacon)

Hillary and Bill dismiss such concerns and criticism as further proof that Hillary Clinton has been a victim of sexism. Never mind that she beat the pants off a guy to win her Senate seat, or that she has been the first woman to come within a hair's breath of the presidency itself. Hillary's victories are only confirmation she is worthy as the he and she assume she is. Only when she loses does sexism become the prime suspect. If she had become President, would she whine that world leaders and members of Congress who oppose her policies are sexist too? The "Great Sexists-wing Conspiracy?"

I don't like Hillary Clinton, okay. But it's not because she's a woman. It's because she's Hillary Clinton — the very same Hillary Clinton I came know over the past 16 action-packed years.

So there you have it. As you hear the talking heads twirling in the seats over the possibility of a Obama/Clinton ticket, stop, look both ways, and try to imagine what that would mean as a daily, four-year, reality.

Then let's think again. Because age and treachery really can overwhelm youth and skill.

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