As one person close to Bill observed after the Lewinsky affair broke, “in deed and expression, you could see he was trying to do everything he could to make it up to Hillary … Whatever Hillary wants, Hillary gets.” She, in turn, had something to give. Her forbearance and love permitted him to survive, even to “come back.” No one else could rescue him as she could. No one else could make right what was wrong. The exchange even worked romantically. When she was in charge of defending him, they were a team once more, affectionate with each other, sensitive to each other’s feelings. “It was hand-holding,” one of the White House lawyers said, “arms around one another, lots of eye contact.” In some respects, their partnership achieved a new intimacy and camaraderie when she stood by him in the face of his misbehavior. Thus, in the strangest of ways, Clinton’s reckless sexual behavior actually enhanced their personal ties. It made their relationship more functional and productive. Arguably—and in the strangest irony of all—it was at the heart of their partnership, the centerpiece that made it work.
