Despite David Letterman, Hillary's campaign for New York Senator continues to falter. Mind you, this is a candidate who has everything going for her, including taxpayer-financed airplane rides to the campaign site. She's the first lady of the United States of America, a position that used to mean a woman married to the President but, since the Clintons, has come to mean a woman who can run the country without benefit of election or taxpayer input. Of course the Democrats would immediately recruit such a person as senatorial candidate--what with the bully pulpit already there, not to mention already having hoodwinked the public with vast right wing conspiracies, missing billing records, absconding of FBI files, firings in the WH travel office and impressive cattle futures. Hillary Clinton should be every politician's wet dream.

Problem is, people are starting to really dislike this woman and I must rejoice at this. Her ratings are at an unbelievable low for a politico with so much power behind her. She even polls low in what should be her strongest constituency--women.

And why should serious women like Hillary? We're talking women who struggled throughout their careers to be recognized for their talents and effort and now they should embrace a female senatorial candidate whose claim to fame is being married to her own personal springboard? A woman whose vaunted intelligence must be questioned for staying with a man who's an admitted philanderer, known worldwide. A woman who whispered of a vast conspiracy and/or dueling grandmothers as being the cause of Bill's escapades--take your pick.

Why should women who've had no presidential husband, taxpayer financed job aid or pandering media to assist in their struggle choose, of all people, Hillary Clinton, as a female political icon?

They're not.

Other than the toadying members of the teachers' unions, professional women are holding their noses at Hillary as candidate.

Hillary is running high among minority constituencies yet she manages to mess up even this edge. Consider her appearance with Al Sharpton and his groupies--a ploy to appease the black leaders whose endorsements she must keep. But don't some of Sharpton's pals indulge in serious and unfair anti-Semitic rhetoric in which Hillary, by default, is implicated. The New York Jewish vote is a mighty one, comprising almost 9% of the total vote. The woman has committed so many political gaffes that concern the Jewish constituency that she might as well throw their vote out the window. Then maybe she'll get ole Bill to let Pollard out of jail like he obligingly released the Puerto Rican terrorists. Nice to have such a powerful presidential backup for this woman who should be admired for her female gutsiness.

Finally there was that incredibly suspicious radio interview with host Tom Bauerle. This whole thing looked like a setup and don't forget Hillary has many Hollywood friends who can create fiction out of thin air.

This was the first reporter who had a chance to ask the woman questions one-on-one. And what did he ask her? Did she have an affair with Vince Foster and did she ever smoke marijuana?

Who on earth cares about this? So far as I am concerned she could have screwed Foster endlessly--what with Bill off somewhere doing the same thing to some intern or another. As for marijuana use, please--if you ask me, Hillary NEEDS to smoke a joint or two.

Still, they are provocative and personal questions and guess what? Hillary can now tell the world she's finally suffered the slings and arrows of the New York press and returned to her "listening" tour.

Could Hillary have actually arranged for the reporter to ask two outrageous but mostly benign questions that stray far away from the questions she really fears, yet still be interpreted by the public as invasive and unfair? A political reporter who was not part of the charade might well have asked Hillary questions about cattle futures, missing files, rapist husbands or any number of things a senator's constituency might well be concerned about. Add to the farce the strange disappearance of Bauerle the day after the interview (I'm thinking an emergency reconnoiter with Carville and Ickes) and this citizen, for one, is not fooled.

It's possible that this woman might actually win that coveted NY senatorship--stepping stone to the White House and possibly a new position as queen of the world. And she just might do it without ever having to answer one honest question. For if it's one thing Hillary knows--she and Shakespeare--is that all of the world is a stage and we are but bit players passing through. Only with Hillary, she is the lead actress and we are the fools that comprise her audience.

Copyright © 2000 Patricia Fish All Rights Reserved

Pat's first book, "Everything You Need to Know About Being a Woman Can Be Learned in the Garden" can be downloaded at http://dlsijpress.com/fish/index.shtml E-mail her at: patfish1@aol.com.