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Bill Clinton paid the price of public humiliation and House impeachment, but he moved on, concluding what is remembered as a successful (if tarnished) presidency and a post-presidency at least as successful.

Hillary Clinton, humiliated in her own way, emerged seemingly stronger. Her marriage endured; she became senator and secretary of state. Having put cracks in the glass ceiling, she is poised to break it, should she choose, in 2016.

And then there is Lewinsky, who alone among the protagonists in the national soap opera saw her life irreparably shattered. Bill and Hillary made millions on the speaking circuit. Lewinsky, she writes for the June issue of Vanity Fair, turned down offers that would have earned me more than $10million, because they didnt feel like the right thing to do.

Despite a masters degree in social psychology from the London School of Economics, Lewinsky has never really held a steady job. Because of what potential employers so tactfully referred to as my history, Lewinsky writes, I was never quite right for the position. In some cases, I was right for all the wrong reasons, as in Of course, your job would require you to attend our events. And, of course, these would be events at which press would be in attendance.

Still, 16 years after the scandal broke, she is recognized nearly every day. Now 40, she has never married.

Lewinsky did not exactly turn into a recluse. She launched a line of designer handbags, appeared on Saturday Night Live, hawked a diet program, developed and starred in an HBO documentary about you know what. But she has mostly remained backstage as Clinton Inc. thrived.

So the timing of Lewinskys Vanity Fair piece as the political world awaits Hillary Clintons presidential determination, as Chelsea Clinton prepares to have the first grandchild would seem not exactly fortuitous for the Clintons. Who wants to remember the stained blue dress and presidential phone sex and West Wing thong-flashing?

Lewinsky writes that, in choosing this moment, she was inspired, in part, by the example of Tyler Clementi, the 18-year-old Rutgers freshman who committed suicide in 2010 after his roommate Web-cammed him kissing another man. In the aftermath, Lewinsky writes, my own suffering took on a different meaning. Perhaps by sharing my story, I reasoned, I might be able to help others in their darkest moments of humiliation.

Maybe, although a more compelling reason may have come with the release a few months ago of notes by the late Diane Blair, Hillary Clintons closest friend, in which she quotes the then-first lady describing Lewinsky as a narcissistic loony toon.

Lewinskys response? Yes, I get it. Hillary Clinton wanted it on record that she was lashing out at her husbands mistress, she writes. She may have faulted her husband for being inappropriate, but I find her impulse to blame the Woman not only me, but herself troubling.

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Ruth Marcus: Monica Lewinsky Does Hillary Clinton a Big Favor