Hillary Clinton sure has her fans–and none apparently more loyal than Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus. Witness this, from Marcus's Jan.17 WaPo column:
In a campaign that has, so far, been blessedly free of sexism toward the Democratic front-runner, this was the most retro, sexist remark yet, at least where Clinton is concerned.
"Retro"? "Sexist"? Is Marcus talking about Donald Trump? He's said a lot of mean things about Hillary!
Nope–Marcus is talking about Carly Fiorina.
Wut??? But yes, it's true. Here's what Carly said to provoke Marcus's outrage, as her opener joke in the Jan. 14 GOP candidate debate:
Unlike another woman in this race, I actually love spending time with my husband.
Horrors! Marcus flies into high moral dudgeon:
Bill Clinton’s philandering is between him and his wife, not a legitimate topic for campaign commentary….
What does she know of the Clintons’ marriage? What does anyone know about another person’s marriage? Fiorina says she loves spending time with her husband, and great for her, but she has no clue — none — about whether Hillary Clinton loves spending time with hers.
For what it’s worth, I believe Clinton deeply loves her husband, which explains her decision to stay with him — a choice that conservatives should applaud, not disdain. But I also believe that how they feel about one another, and how much time they spend together, is none of our business.
Well, actually we–and that includes Ruth Marcus–know quite a bit about the Clintons' marriage. Indeed, we could be said to have TMI about "Bill Clinton's philandering." Which almost cost him his presidency.
And it's also a well-known fact that the two Clintons, during the years since, haven't spent a whole lot of time socializing in each other's company (as even the New York Times has reported). So it seems fair enough to infer that that's because they don't want to. It may be that Hillary Clinton "deeply loves her husband," but she's not around him much in her private life.
Finally, I don't know which sand pit Ruth Marcus keeps her head in on the subject of "legitimate" topics "for campaign commentary," but reporters have been all too happy so pass on rumors–so far completely unsubstantiated–about presidential contender Marco Rubio's supposed "philandering."
Oh, but Rubio's a Republican. That's different.