Hillary R

‘History in the Making!” screamed the podium banner 1 at the state convention crowning Hillary Clinton— and for once, a slogan was right. This is the first time the wife of a president, having moved in effect out of the White House, is running for office; running, in essence, as Queen. And this is not even Hillary’s first strike at power. Having failed in her bid to become the unelected co-president of all of the states, she is now trying to become the elected representative of just one of them, making it uncertain if this is, in fact, progress. For some time now, she has been trying on regal themes. In late 1998, when the Senate run germinated,she was our Princess Di, bravely blonde spouse of a swine of a husband, seeking glitzy revenge on Vogue covers. On her “listening tour,” she was our Queen Elizabeth, making gracious small talk with the populace. And, should she win, she will become (as did Robert F. Kennedy) our Bonnie Prince Charlie, the King Over the Water, a famous name seeking a speedy return to the castle. But being Queen has its drawbacks, like coups and beheadings, and some that are rather more subtle in nature. Is Hillary the dupe of her own regal role and pretensions? And might they at last do her in?

Has she a choice? The role of First Lady is the closest we come in our culture to institutionalized royalty, having been created as it was in the late 18th century, when the only model extant was royalty and the president was an elected king. In time, the president became a partisan figure and therefore lost some of his luster, but the First Lady stayed on as our national hostess, a figure of presumed benevolence. Dolley Madison was seen as a national treasure; glamorous figures like Jacqueline Kennedy and First Daughter “Princess” Alice Roosevelt Longworth were worshiped like Lady Diana; Barbara Bush made herself into an approximation of the present Queen Mother, a beloved feisty matriarch. Being First Lady is in some ways a fun job—you get to dress up and meet interesting people— but the best thing about it is that you do what you want. You can be a Social Worker in Chief, like Eleanor Roosevelt; Curator in Chief, like Jacqueline Kennedy; Homebody in Chief, like Mamie Eisenhower; or you can be like Bess Truman, and stay home out of town. You can shine your public light where and when it needs shining, and then retreat back into privacy. And all the while, you are protected by two different things: the tradition that the First Lady is assumed to be above politics; and the unwritten law that protects the families of public figures (unless they ask for it) from public criticism and attack. First Ladies are gossiped about—often cruelly—but not savaged in public. It is somehow Not Nice to attack the First Lady. She is a wife, and a maternal figure. And Queen.

About the Author

Noemie Emery

Noemie Emery has also written for the Washington Examiner and The Weekly Standard.

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‘History in the Making!” screamed the podium banner 1 at the state convention crowning Hillary Clinton— and for once, a slogan was right. This is the first time the wife of a president, having moved in effect out of the White House, is running for office; running, in essence, as Queen. And this is not even Hillary’s first strike at power. Having failed in her bid to become the unelected co-president of all of the states, she is now trying to become the elected representative of just one of them, making it uncertain if this is, in fact, progress. For some time now, she has been trying on regal themes. In late 1998, when the Senate run germinated,she was our Princess Di, bravely blonde spouse of a swine of a husband, seeking glitzy revenge on Vogue covers. On her “listening tour,” she was our Queen Elizabeth, making gracious small talk with the populace. And, should she win, she will become (as did Robert F. Kennedy) our Bonnie Prince Charlie, the King Over the Water, a famous name seeking a speedy return to the castle. But being Queen has its drawbacks, like coups and beheadings, and some that are rather more subtle in nature. Is Hillary the dupe of her own regal role and pretensions? And might they at last do her in?

Has she a choice? The role of First Lady is the closest we come in our culture to institutionalized royalty, having been created as it was in the late 18th century, when the only model extant was royalty and the president was an elected king. In time, the president became a partisan figure and therefore lost some of his luster, but the First Lady stayed on as our national hostess, a figure of presumed benevolence. Dolley Madison was seen as a national treasure; glamorous figures like Jacqueline Kennedy and First Daughter “Princess” Alice Roosevelt Longworth were worshiped like Lady Diana; Barbara Bush made herself into an approximation of the present Queen Mother, a beloved feisty matriarch. Being First Lady is in some ways a fun job—you get to dress up and meet interesting people— but the best thing about it is that you do what you want. You can be a Social Worker in Chief, like Eleanor Roosevelt; Curator in Chief, like Jacqueline Kennedy; Homebody in Chief, like Mamie Eisenhower; or you can be like Bess Truman, and stay home out of town. You can shine your public light where and when it needs shining, and then retreat back into privacy. And all the while, you are protected by two different things: the tradition that the First Lady is assumed to be above politics; and the unwritten law that protects the families of public figures (unless they ask for it) from public criticism and attack. First Ladies are gossiped about—often cruelly—but not savaged in public. It is somehow Not Nice to attack the First Lady. She is a wife, and a maternal figure. And Queen.