Infidelity issue plagued Clinton

0 Comments | Milwaukee Journal, The, Feb 7, 1995 | by DAVID MARANISS

The following summer, Clinton talked to scores of friends about whether he should run for president in 1992. He could present a convincing case either way, as he always could. One of his arguments on the negative side had echoes of 1987. He would say that he was not sure that Chelsea was ready. There was a new problem as well: his promise to the voters of Arkansas that he would serve out his term as governor.

In August, Hillary went up to Bentonville for a meeting of the Wal-Mart environmental board, which she chaired. Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro and Roy Spence, head of a Texas advertising agency, were also there. Mauro and Spence had known the Clintons since the McGovern campaign in Texas. Now Mauro was on the Wal-Mart environmental board with Hillary, and Spence had the company's advertising account. After the meeting, Hillary said, "Let's drive around."

Spence drove around aimlessly. Mauro sat in the back and Hillary in front. "We're thinking about doing it," Hillary said. "We're thinking about going forward with this great adventure. What do you all think?"

"This is what we've been waiting for, for a long time," Spence said.

Spence circled back to the Wal-Mart parking lot and turned off the engine.

"You know, Roy, they'll say a lot of things about our marriage," Hillary said.

"Yeah."

"What should we do about that?"

"Admit it. Early." Facing the Issue

That subject got a more thorough vetting at a meeting that the Clintons held with their closest political advisers. They convened in the office of Frank Greer, a media consultant working for Clinton. In dealing with reporters and political operatives all summer, Greer had come to realize that Clinton had "an incredible reputation around town" for philandering. The next morning, Clinton was scheduled to meet the elite of Washington's political press corps at a traditional function known as the Sperling Breakfast, founded by Godfrey Sperling Jr. of the Christian Science Monitor. What should he do, if anything, to assure this crowd that his personal life was under control, that he would not implode like Gary Hart?

The next morning, before the breakfast, Greer encouraged several reporters to ask about Clinton's sex life. No one seemed eager to do it. Finally, as the session was nearing an end, the question came up. Clinton replied that it was the sort of trivia that people obsessed about while Rome was in decline. With Hillary at his side, he added: "Like nearly anybody who has been together for 20 years, our relationship has not been perfect or free from difficulties, but we feel good about where we are and we believe in our obligation to each other, and we intend to be together 30 or 40 years from now, whether I run for president or not."

Excerpted from "First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton." Copyright 1995 by David Maraniss. Published by Simon & Schuster Inc. Printed by permission. Distributed by The Washington Post Writers Group.