This wasn't my first personal encounter with Hillary. Just before Bill Clinton's inauguration as president in 1993, I had dinner with the about-to-be First Lady at the Clintons' gabfest, "Renaissance Weekend," in Hilton Head, S.C. I've never figured out why I was invited, much less why I was seated at Hillary's table, along with a number of other people who ended up in the Clinton administration, including fellow Republican and Reagan White House alumnus David Gergen. During dinner, I found Hillary personable, though wary -- as much of job seekers and influence peddlers as of potential adversaries. Ten years later, having achieved power of her own, albeit with a bitter complement of public humiliation, Hillary Clinton seemed more relaxed and cheerful.
But the real surprise wasn't how Hillary behaved, but what I felt, which was pretty much nothing. My blood pressure didn't go up. I didn't feel any anger or resentment. I didn't harbor ill will. Where was all the pent-up animus any red-blooded conservative was supposed to feel in the presence of our archenemy, I wondered.
Frankly, I've often thought that conservatives might be partly responsible for Hillary's success. Conservatives and liberals are locked in a weird, symbiotic dance with Hillary. By demonizing her, we've elevated her importance and encouraged liberals to rally around her. And there is no question that all the vituperative attacks on her book have increased sales.
In truth, Hillary Clinton hasn't been nearly the wild-eyed radical some predicted she'd be if elected senator. From a policy standpoint, I doubt she'd be a worse president than John Kerry or Howard Dean or John Edwards, or any of the other Democrats running. But I'm betting we'll never find out. In the meantime, I'll wait to pick up a copy of her book when it hits the remainders table at my local bookstore.