Rewriting History

Like the moon, she shows us the same face each time we see her. Sometimes she displays more, sometimes less of her visage, but always it is the same carefully presented persona: friendly, open, giggly, practical, family-oriented, caring, thoughtful, unflappable, serious, balanced, and moderate. Just like the moon, though, Hillary Rodham Clinton has a face she never shows us, a side that is never visible, never on display.

This book is a voyage around that side of Hillary -- the parts of her personality and history that have been rewritten, reinvented, or omitted from her memoir Living History and her other writings or public statements. Senator Clinton's book is no more revealing of her hidden side than is a telescopic view of the moon seen from Earth. Her book simply presents, in one volume and in greater detail, all the pretense and pretend that dominates the Hillary we are allowed to see. Rewriting History offers a kind of annotation of Hillary's memoir, to tell more of the story she hides and the facts she omits. For much of Living History is not history, and much of Hillary's history is not in her book.

Some of what Hillary conceals is not dark, only unseen. Not sinister, just covered-up, protected from our gaze. Parts of it, although not always flattering, would be quite acceptable if she were to expose it to full public view. With incredible discipline, however, she conceals this side of herself in order to create the idealized portrait of Hillary that's on display in Living History.

But some of Hillary's hidden side is indeed dark. Like the moon, she has been scarred by the constant pounding of political meteorites. Under their battering, she has developed a sinister side, which is chilling even to those who know her well. Some of her reinventions are defensive, a form of protective coloration to minimize her potential vulnerability and maximize her capacity to deny what she must to survive politically.

This secretiveness about who she really is creates a puzzle for onlookers. Just as we are curious about the dark side of the moon -- and spend billions to fly there to have a look -- so the missing parts of Hillary's public image drive us to speculation, myth, and rumor about the real person underneath.

Both of the Clintons are masters of subterfuge. But Hillary's deceptions and disguises are very different from Bill's. Bill Clinton deceives himself, and fools us in the process. He pretends, even when he is alone, that he is not doing what he knows he is doing. He never tells his right hand what his left hand is up to.