"Bully pulpit" is a phrase coined by Teddy Roosevelt to describe the White House as a platform from which to promote an agenda. Today, almost any high office might be seen as a bully pulpit. Take, as an example, the American Secretary of State, an office now occupied by Mrs. William Clinton. Mrs. Clinton carries some unique personal baggage which might have forecast her Cabinet persona. During her husband's two terms in office, she and her daughter were humiliated on more than a few occasions by reports of her husband's indiscretions, subsequent perjuries, and impeachment. Mrs. Clinton chose to defend her husband as a victim and endure, even to this day, what is almost certainly a political marriage. She claimed to be ignorant of her husband's exploits, assuming the victim mantel for herself too. Never mind the long litany of "bimbo eruptions" that preceded Ms. Lewinsky. Pretense is often the habitual pose of victims. Some might draw a bright line between personal and public...(Read Full Post)