Take a little time, sometimes...

I've been thinking:
Honestly, do you believe Bill Clinton would have ended up in the White House had he not chosen Hillary Rodham as his life partner?

Seems to me he had enough early political ambition...
and that All American likeabilty is something present in boyhood...
(see the JFK Boys State picture for a nice visual of both),

But knowing the personalities and partnerships I've had occasion to witness in my somewhat-getting-about 39 years, I'd say no.

Something about what he got: a partner with conservative Midwestern upbringing, no doubt Protestant ethic and sensibilities, the family unit which in someways changes all men if they become fathers (yep, even philandering ones)...

I won't speculate on where Mr. Clinton would be working today, had he not chosen the seemingly disciplined Hillary. But I do think unless he had ended up with a similarly intelligent independent woman with that kind of grounding/challenging to keep him on course careerwise, he might just be a bit rounder now not have achieved as much outside the partnership.

Those comparing that pairing to say, George and Laura Bush (say, what was her maiden name anyways, since we're gearing up for the trivia game season?) are missing something, not capable of distinguishing between marraiges/personalities/partnerships/backgrounding, etc., I think.

Not saying I'm right, but knowing that Midwest/Southern combination, plus with two seemingly matched intellects, one more fun/life of the party type and one maybe more individually driven... it just seems like there's balance, which probably let them survive times of trouble.

Then I started wondering ... would FDR have been elected without Eleanor alongside him? What kind of woman would she be set in today's times. Another complementary life partnership that seems to have worked politically, independence amidst arrangements.