HILLARY COULD NOT GET THIS FAR WITHOUT BILL

Hillary Rodham Clinton would be nowhere if she had not been the spouse of the forty-second president of the United States. That conclusion comes very easy when one simply reads her biography and notices some of the curious decisions she has made.

One in a series of those decisions was her 1975 wedding to a fellow law student she met at Yale four years earlier, William Jefferson Clinton. Marriage and politics go together, and the new bride could hardly ask for a better groom: A young brilliant, ambitious young lawyer with a bright future. One will go nowhere without a mate. It would not take long for both political careers to take off. In 1978, Bill Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas, which soon would launch both into the national spotlight.

If it hadn't been for a broken promise by George Bush Sr. to raise taxes, William Clinton may have not have been elected president in 1992. He was, and there was a democrat in the White House again. Hillary proudly served as first lady for eight years. Surely, husband Bill always had the wish to be president, but it is unclear when his wife had the first thoughts about following in his footsteps. Some say it may have been before her White House years, others say it may have been while serving as first lady. Whatever the case may be, as a candidate, Mrs. Clinton has labeled those eight years as political experience on her resume for seeking the highest office in the land in 2008.

From 1993 to 2001, Hillary Clinton did not make any important decisions that impacted the laws of the United States. She only acted as an advisor, probably one with considerable influence, since she was the president's wife. When she did act in that role, her best known proposal, as chairperson of Task Force on National Health Care Reform, was rejected by both the house and the senate. In addition, much of her time was spent dealing with the sexual escapades of her husband, both alleged and real.

America suspected that the first lady had the oval office in mind when she ran for senator from New York in the last year of her husband's term. Why not Arkansas, where the Clinton's lived before? She had never lived in the Empire State. Simply owning a house there was enough to qualify to run for office. New York is an extremely liberal state, which suits Clinton's political philosophy well, and it holds much power, more, than, say, a state like Arkansas? She was easily elected. A question comes to mind as to the stature of a first lady of the United States: Could Hillary be elected, or even run, if she were not in that position? I think not.

New York Senator Hillary Clinton could not have come this far without her husband. Today, her campaign is in trouble due to her lack of political experience. Seven years as a senator seems not to be enough. She will not win the 2008 Democratic Nomination, a prize many thought she would easily get six months ago. The major error she has made is that she is running on her accomplishments when she was in her white house, a place she could not have reached if she was not Bill Clinton's wife. Democratic voters are taking a look and are asking: "What accomplishments?"