41 years ago Tuesday, two of America’s most powerful politicians wed in what became a controversial marriage. Yet somehow, despite the rockiness of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s union, the liberal media persist in hyping the couple’s “charmed story” as if it were a Disney tale.
This election year, maybe it’s a liberal media effort to make Hillary more relatable or to make her opponent’s marital history look more contemptible. Whatever the reason, many outlets shamelessly spin the Clinton marriage as a loving partnership, neglecting to mention the sordid infidelities and rape accusations that continue to plagued the couple. The liberal media have always fawned over the Clintons, but this trend shows they’re going farther – far enough to posit that the Clintons might be “good marriage role models,” as Cosmopolitan writer Ada Calhoun penned in an opinion piece this summer.
She wasn’t the only one. “It’s a charmed story that sort of feels like it was taken right out of a Shakespearean play,” wrote Bustle staff writer Yvonne Juris. In her July article about Hillary and Bill’s love story, Juris featured wedding photos and discussed Bill’s recent “glowing” DNC speech, but made no mention of any scandal (unless that was implied by the phrase “political fairy tale with a feminist ending”).
A month earlier, In Style writer Mehera Bonner was just as enthralled, enthusing over the Clintons’ “truly gem-worthy relationship moments” which she collated in her piece. “Prepare for an unexpected level of sweetness,” she wrote about the collection of throwback photos. One, portraying the couple clad in bathing suits and dancing by the beach, left Bonner speechless. “Literally just cannot even process this,” she gushed.
Elle, Marie Claire and Harper’s Bazaar – all owned by the Hearst conglomerate – recently published the same online video of “Hillary and Bill Clinton’s Sweetest Moments,” which featured more than twenty pictures of the couple throughout the course of their relationship.
Wedding websites even joined in the nostalgia. Both The Knot and Brides ran stories about the “lovebirds,” giving details of the Clintons’ first meeting, proposal and eventual marriage.
The beneficent feminist treatment of Bill Clinton contrasts with past media accusations of the former president. In an interview with Yahoo! News anchor Katie Couric, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd deftly posited that “feminism sort of died” during the Clinton presidency “because the feminists had to come along on Bill Clinton’s retrogressive behavior with women in order to protect the progressive policies for women that Bill Clinton had as president.” But the majority of the liberal media seem to sweep this under the rug. Their reason is – most assuredly – to bolster the reputation of their idol Hillary.
When feminist writers do bring up Mrs. Clinton’s troubled marriage, it’s to criticize Republicans that accuse her for remaining by her husband while, at the same time, planning to vote for a thrice-married man. Romper writer Megan Zander explored this point, questioning how “shaming someone for staying in their marriage promote[s] Republican values exactly?”
But the media occasionally call out both sides of the aisle on this topic. In a January 2016 episode of The View, co-host Joy Behar showed that liberals are equally guilty when she declared women voted for Kennedy because “he voted for women’s rights.” She continued, “I don’t like either one of them, to tell you the truth, Teddy or Bill. They’re both dogs as far as I’m concerned. But I will still vote for Bill Clinton because he votes in my favor.”
But with the overwhelming amount of sexual scandal plaguing this election, feminist media continue to apply the double standard and downplay the Clintons’ history. With four weeks until the election, hopefully some journalists will choose to rise above partisan politics and biased reporting to tell the truth.
