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Ruth Marcus

Overseeing Washington Post signed opinion content and writing on domestic politics and policy

Deputy editorial page editor

Between the man who is president and the woman who ran against him, there is, for me, no contest; Hillary Clinton would have been a far better president than Donald Trump. But both Trump and Clinton, in their own trademark ways, stepped in it again this week when it comes to women.

Trumps comments describing Stormy Daniels as Horseface are the more offensive if for no other reason than that he is the president, and presidential words carry extra weight. Yet Clintons comments insisting that her husbands affair with Monica Lewinsky did not constitute an abuse of power because Lewinsky, then 22, was an adult are the more painful because she could have, should have, done better.

Trump played to piggish type with his comment about Daniels, the adult-film actress who was paid $130,000 to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she says she had with Trump. This was not a spur-of-the-moment utterance, it was a tweet about a judges ruling in Trumps favor in a defamation suit filed by Daniels: Great, now I can go after Horseface and her 3rd rate lawyer, Trump wrote.

Horseface now joins the panoply of Trumps greatest sexist hits: Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? (Carly Fiorina). Face of a pig (Gail Collins). Fat, ugly face (Rosie ODonnell). Blood coming out of her wherever (Megyn Kelly). That this is not anywhere near the complete list tells you everything you need to know about Trumps unrelenting offensiveness.

[Carly Fiorina: Trump has disparaged womens looks including mine. But we have bigger problems.]

This far into the administration, it is folly to expect some version of presidential Trump to emerge. Indeed, just two days before Horseface, there was Trump on 60 Minutes, behaving in a way that is more subtle but also more chilling. At one point in the interview, Leslie Stahl recounts Christine Blasey Fords searing testimony about the indelible laughter of Brett M. Kavanaugh and his friend. Trump shrugs it off, literally. His shoulders rise. He tilts his head in one direction, then another. Okay fine, he says. Whatever.

I watched you mimic her and thousands of people were laughing at her, Stahl told Trump. She invited regret; the president responded with unadulterated callousness. The way now-Justice Kavanaugh was treated has become a big factor in the midterms. Have you seen whats gone on with the polls? And, the ultimate in Trumpian instrumentalism: It doesnt matter. We won.

Once we scoffed at Bill Clinton for being the feel-your-pain president. Now we have a president who is only capable of feeling the pain of those who are similarly aggrieved.

Speaking of Bill Clinton, there was his wife on CBSs Sunday Morning, being asked about workplace conduct in the clarifying light of the #MeToo movement. In retrospect, do you think Bill shouldve resigned in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal? asked correspondent Tony Dokoupil.

Clinton, without hesitation: Absolutely not.

Dokoupil: It wasnt an abuse of power?

Clinton: No, no.

Dokoupil: There are people who look at the incidents of the 90s and they say, A president of the United States cannot have a consensual relationship with an intern, the power imbalance is too great.

Clinton, interjecting mid-sentence: Who was an adult. But let me ask you this: Wheres the investigation of the current incumbent against whom numerous allegations have been made and which he dismisses, denies and ridicules?

Who was an adult . How can she say that, as if that is relevant in any way? Lewinskys technical adulthood is no defense for Bill Clintons behavior in the workplace, as her superior (not to mention president), as a man old enough to be her father. And whatever the reasons for Hillary Clintons instinctive defense of her husbands behavior then, her summary dismissal of it now diminishes her claim to feminism.

Would it not be possible for her to choke out something like: Weve all had some time to think about this and, yes, this was unacceptable workplace behavior. I dont think a president who was elected by the country should have resigned over it, but I also think this conduct was seriously wrong.

But this is not, it never has been, in Hillary Clintons emotional repertoire. She does not cede a millimeter; like Trump, she is allergic to apology. Like Trump, she is prone to whataboutism. If what Bill Clinton did was wrong, why does it matter if what Trump has done is wronger, if indeed it was? Whataboutism is an argument for losers, whichever side deploys it.

And so we are left with this depressing juxtaposition: a president who never hesitates to stoop in demeaning women. And a shouldve-been-president who is a champion for women, except those mistreated by her husband. If Trump never fails to infuriate, Clinton consistently disappoints.

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If Trump never fails to infuriate, Hillary Clinton always ...

.FILE - Hillary Clinton talks with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor in chief of The Atlantic, during The Atlantic Festival, in Washington. (AP)

If Democrats are to be successful in this years midterm elections, they may need to hold an intervention to stop Hillary Clinton from complicating their lives with incendiary comments and unnecessary drama, according to a New York Times op-ed from a member of the editorial board.

In her column, Michelle Cottleargues Clinton's rash of appearances on national TV and other venues todiscusshot-button issueswill only cause problems for her party.

In a recent interview, Clintonadvocated throwing out civility when dealing with the Republican Party, which could turn offswing voters being courted by Democratsas the partyseeks a congressional majority.

"You cannot be civil with a political party that wants to destroy what you stand for, what you care about," Clinton said in an Oct. 9 sit-downwith CNN.

Cottle wrote that the message could energize the GOP, whose base sees Clinton as the ultimate boogeyman to be invoked when a Republican politician is having trouble exciting his constituents.

What could be more helpful than Crooked Hillary inflaming partisan passions, she wrote.

During a recent appearance on CBS Sunday Morning, Clintons take on her husbands affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky didnt help either, Cottle said.

During the interview, Clinton pointed out that Lewinsky was an adult at the time of the dalliance and that former President Bill Clinton was right to not resign.

She then demandedto know why no one was investigating the multiple sexual harassment accusations against President Trump.

By playing down her own husbands acts, she makes it easier for Trump supporters to ignore his, Cottle said.

Clinton also rejected a suggestion that having not contended fully with her husbands accusers makes it harder for her to be an effective supporter of #MeToo movement.

Well, no because there was the most intense, comprehensive investigation, which she believes came out in the right place, Clinton said in the interview.

It is that moral arrogance, Cottle said, that has troubled some Democrats.

Ahead of the midterms, the plan for Republicans is to closely tie Clinton to the Democratic Party.

Were going to make them own her, a Republican National Committee spokesman said.

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Dems may need intervention to contain Hillary Clinton, NYT ...

Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's security clearance has been revoked at her request, the State Department told lawmakers, according to a letter made public Friday.

Clinton's clearance was withdrawn on Aug. 30, according to a letter from the State Department to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), which he released.

Story Continued Below

Five others associated with Clinton, including longtime aide Cheryl Mills, also had their clearances revoked on Sept. 20, according to the letter. The aides were known as "research assistants," which allowed them to keep their clearances after their time at the department concluded.

The move comes almost a year after Grassley asked the department to investigate and review whether Clinton's aides still had security clearance.

Clinton in 2016 was investigated for her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state. No charges were filed against Clinton, who was running for president at the time of the probe.

This summer, President Donald Trump revoked former CIA Director John Brennan's security clearance, and the White House has said he is reviewing several other clearances of former top officials. Clinton's name was not on the list of those said to be under review.

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State Department revokes Hillary Clinton's security ...

10/16/2018 3:31 PM PDT

Hillary Clintonhit a snag on her way to a fundraiser ... well, to be exact, the SUV she was riding in smacked into a cement pole, and came to a screeching halt.

Hillary, reportedly accompanied by her trusted aide,Huma Abedin, was in a Secret Service van Monday night in New Jersey headed to an event for Sen. Bob Menendez. As the van pulled into a parking garage -- with camera rolling -- it looks like her driver just cut the turn way too tight, and ... DOH!

Moments later, Hillary seemed unharmed as she stepped out of the van. The Secret Service tells us there were no injuries reported, and Jersey City cops are investigating the crash. Should be a pretty quick investigation.

It's been a tough few days for the former First Lady. She's also been taking heat for saying Bill Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky wasn't an abuse of power.

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Hillary Clinton's Secret Service Van Crashes into Cement Pole

Hillary Clintonsaid Sunday that her husband, former President Bill Clinton, was right not to resign over his affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky and the subsequent scandal that rocked his administration in the late 1990s.

Absolutely not, Hillary Clinton,a champion of the Me Too movement, told CBS Sunday Morning when asked whether Bill Clinton should have stepped down.

The former secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee for president denied that her husbands sexual relationship with Lewinksy, who was 22 when it began, should be considered an abuse of power.

When CBSTony Dokoupil noted that critics say its impossible for a president to have a consensual relationship with an intern, Hillary Clinton responded that Lewinsky was an adult, then steered the conversation toward the numerous sexual misconduct allegations against President Donald Trump.

Let me ask you this, wheres the investigation of the current incumbent against whom numerous allegations have been made and which he dismisses, denies and ridicules? Clinton asked. So there was an investigation and it, as I believe, came out in the right place.

Clinton stood by her husband after he was impeached in late 1998 for lying about his affair with Lewinsky. After a monthlong trial, the Senate in February 1999 ultimately fell well short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict and remove him from office.

Lewinsky has said in the past that her affair with Bill Clinton was consensual, but has reconsidered that view recently. Several other women have accused him of sexual misconduct going as far back as the 1970s, which he has vehemently denied.

Several women have accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault, including Juanita Broadderick, who has alleged he raped her in a hotel room in 1978 when he was Arkansas attorney general.

He forces me down on the bed, Broadderick told NBC News in 1999. This was very frightening, and I tried to get away from him, and I told him, No. ... He wouldnt listen to me.

Much as Trump has done, Bill Clinton has had a history of dismissing the allegations as lies. Hillary Clinton has referred to the accusations against her husband as a vast right-wing conspiracy and reportedly told a close friend that Lewinsky wasa narcissistic Looney Toon.

But Hillary Clinton, in her interview with CBS, denied playing any role in criticizing the character of her husbands accusers.

I take responsibility for my life and my actions, she said.

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Hillary Clinton: Bill's Affair With Monica Lewinsky Was Not ...