Senate revived Clinton romance

2005-05-29 21:02

Washington - Bill Clinton's role as campaign sage for his wife's 2000 Senate run helped mend a marriage torn by the former president's affair with an intern, according to a new book.

"Women want to know why you stayed with me" the former president asked Hillary Clinton in front of aides before her bid for a New York Senate seat, according to a new biography Survivor by journalist John Harris.

"Yes, I've been wondering that myself," she replied, sparking a reply from her husband which emerged as a theme of her campaign.

"Because you're a sticker! That's what people need to know - you are a sticker. You stick at the things you care about," Clinton said according to the book.

The most comprehensive account yet of the 1993-2001 Clinton presidency, other than books penned by both Clintons, Survivor takes its own stab at the mystery of the Clinton marriage.

Harris writes, citing people who worked and socialised with the Clintons, that their love was geniune, and overcame rough patches because it was rooted in a mutual obsession - politics.

The 2000 Senate campaign provided "a project upon which they could rebuild their marriage and remind themselves anew what it was that drew them to each other," writes Harris, a Washington Post reporter who covered the Clinton White House.

Affection between the couple was more evident than for years during her Senate run, and Clinton "lit-up" when her husband called, Harris writes.

Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, but the Senate declined to remove him from office.

Hillary Clinton is currently at the centre of feverish speculation over her own political future, with polls showing her poised for her own run for the White House in 2008.

- SAPA