QUEEN OF THE THIRD WAY:

The Other Thatcher (Anne Applebaum, July 9, 2003, Washington Post)

While flogging her book in London last week, Hillary Clinton unexpectedly revealed her admiration for a great British political figure. Curiously, her kind words were not for Tony Blair, who is often compared to her husband, but rather for one of his illustrious conservative predecessors. Clinton has, it seems, been a fan of Margaret Thatcher's for many years. Following the Iron Lady's career from afar, Clinton particularly admired Thatcher's ability to adapt herself to fit the job. "My goodness, she changed her hair, she changed a lot of things," Clinton told a British interviewer, who gleefully described the junior senator from New York as a woman with an "iron simper."

Pondering her remarks, I couldn't help but wonder whether Clinton has gravely misunderstood a few things about image-making in British politics. Leaving aside the political issue -- does Clinton realize she's aligned herself with a woman whose best friend was Ronald Reagan? -- she also misses an important point about the Thatcher era.

Actually, the normally astute Ms Applebaum misses the point here: Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are all Maggie's get.

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 6, 2007 9:05 AM