Married With Conflicts: Bill & Hill & Rod & Carla & the Problem of Capital Power Couples
squeaky-clean governmentÛÓethics experts disagree passionately over how such conflicts should be handled. As a result, every case of spousal conflict is handled ad hocÛÓnot always to the satisfaction of the couples involved, nor in the best interests of the public, which should expect the highest standards of integrity from its government officials.</br></br>The Clintons are becoming the unwilling poster children of the power-couple syndrome, as they struggle to deal with the question that runs through many of the allegations known collectively as Whitewater: Why did Hillary Clinton do so much personal and legal business with Arkansas interests who could only gain by currying favor with the governorÛªs wife? It isnÛªt just her investment with and legal work for James McDougal, the owner of state-regulated Madison Guaranty. Her adviser on the commodities trades that rang up a $98,537 profit on a $1,000 investment was James B. Blair, outside counsel to Tyson Foods Inc., the state's biggest employer. Busi-See COUPLES, C4,CoLl</br></br>A POTENTIAL nominee to the Federal Reserve Board runs into a roadblock because his wife manages stock-market investments. Another Fed governorÛªs fiancee spurns lucrative job offers from banks and securities firms. A high-powered attorney, the wife of a governor, represents clients before state agenciesÛÓ and finds herself under fire for conflicts of interest a decade later.</br></br>Sound familiar? ÛÏThese kinds of things happen when you have married couples who have professions,Û President Clinton declared at his March 24 news conferenceÛÓand he should know. The Clintons stoutly maintain that Hillary Rodham Clinton did nothing wrong when she wrote letters on behalf of Madison Guaranty Savings & Loan to then-governor ClintonÛªs appointees in Little Rock. But the Whitewater affair has turned a spotlight on the problems posed by power couplesÛÓproblems that Washington, coping with its first baby boomer administration, seems ill-equipped to handle.</br></br>With more and more women breaking through glass ceilings, couples who mix public-service and private-sector careers increasingly face legal or ethical conflicts. Caught between two articles of PC faithÛÓthe need for women to advance professionally and the demand for ÐÊ ness Week magazinethis week details how Hillary Clinton was recruited for her "marquee valueÛ to join a bid for a cellular-tele-phone franchise; she got back $45,998 on that $2,014 investment. While Hillary Clinton turned down her share of the Rose Law FinnÛªs partnership income earned on work done for the state (or, in the case of municipal bond work, accepted and then later turned back), she and the firm' prospered on fees paid by private clients drawn by her presence.