A Parallel?

Back in the spring, at the height of the French presidential campaign, there was excited talk among the left about the possibility of both France and the United States being led by women, namely Segolene Royal and Hillary Clinton. If only Great Brittain had groomed a liberal Thatcher, preferably one more chic, what a triumvirate that would be, if one can use that word referring to women.


Royal, "Sego" as she is known, was certainly the darling of the media, which had been proclaiming a good chance of her victory months in advance. A poor showing in the debate with conservative candidate, Nicolas Sarkozy, and other instances of "style over subtstance" led to her defeat to Sarkozy, May 6, 2007.

Segolene Royal was the amorous "partner" of Francois Hollande, head of the French Socialist party. In fact, they have four children together, in spite of never marrying. The handsome couple was often seen on the covers of magazines, often frolicking on the beach, Sego clad in a skimpy bikini. Rumors had surfaced of non-marital discord, which was denied by the power couple on the far side of the Atlantic. Perhaps the rumors were part of a vast right-wing conspriacy. The campaign continued with Hollande's full support. Now, however, it seems the rumors are true. Sego has kicked Hollande out of the "family home" to "live out his love story" elsewhere, as she puts it in an announcement to the press which itself has drawn criticism for taking attention from the fact that the Socialist party fared better than feared in the Sunday's elections for the National Assembly.

Now the question becomes how far does the parallel go between Royal and Clinton? Both are the female side of a liberal power couple, both have campaigned for the presidency of their country. Both have philandering "husbands". Both have denied the evidence of such philandering. If Hillary is not the Democrat's nominee or if she is and loses the election, will she tell Bill to "live out his love story elsewhere?"

It's pretty much agreed by political junkies that the Clinton's have stayed married for political reasons, first for his and now for hers. Their's has been a partnership of convenience in spite of the inconvenience of it at times. They are apart much more than together, with Bill Clinton travelling worldwide raking in the dough from speaking engagements. Who knows whether or not his sessions with Jesse Jackson and the other religious advisors were able to convince Bill of the error of his ways? The MSM media is not interested in pursuing him 'round the world to see with whom he might rendezvous. Perhaps he can visit France and console Segolene Royal.