A step toward a culture of appearances, away from the culture of the expose, would be a welcome one. Journalists, historians, and citizens need to revel in the good rather than simply wallowing in the bad. The current cynicism is wrong. Imagine how unnerving it will be if the Clintons ever divorce. Even if it is decades after their time in the White House ends, it will mock all their statements of mutual devotion and prove all the cynics right.
Presidential marriages resonate and can alter many people's futures.
Strong marriages, like successful democracies, require a leap of faith - and an occasional suspension of disbelief, motivated by the confidence that ideals such as love, justice, and virtue, can and will ultimately triumph. Gil Troy is professor of history at McGill University in Montreal. The Changing Role of the Presidential Candidate . If Bill Clinton's predicament has but one historical precedent, Andrew Johnson's, Hillary Rodham Clinton's current position has none. I have been with my husband for more than half my life.