Hillary Rodham Clinton has a certain inevitability about her. As she strides like a colossus through the primary process, Clinton, who has been spoken of as the likely 2008 Democratic presidential nominee since her successful first Senate race in 2000, has an air of invincibility to her candidacy. Better organized, better funded, more experienced, the doyenne of the smart set of Beltway pseudo-liberals, can anyone in the Democratic field possibly do more than nip at her heels as she progresses to her coronation?
Born in Chicago on 26 October 1947, Clinton is the granddaughter of British immigrants, raised in Midwest, middle-class, Methodist comfort. A talented, intelligent, forceful personality, Clinton was the first student to give a commencement address to fellow graduates at Wellesley College (where she had been president of the College Republicans!). She proceeded to Yale Law School (where she served on the editorial board of the Yale Review of Law and met future husband Bill). She then became the first woman offered a full partnership in Little Rock’s prestigious Rose law firm. Utimately, Clinton became First Lady of Arkansas for 12 years, First Lady of the United States for 8 years (and the first First Lady to have a post-graduate degree and a successful career outside the home), first former First Lady to run for political office—and the first female Senator from New York—and now, quite possibly, the first female presidential nominee, and perhaps the first female US president.
That’s a lot of “firsts.”
It was the marriage that was the making of both partners. Sometimes known collectively as “Billary,” Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham were married 11 October 1975; Hillary initially kept her name. The couple landed in the Arkansas governor’s mansion in 1978, but for a brief stint only— Arkansas elects governors for two-year terms, and in 1980 the Clintons found themselves out in the cold. That same year their only child Chelsea was born.
In 1982 Bill announced he would run for governor again, and won, giving rise to his nickname “the Comeback Kid.” It was at this time that Hillary added his surname to hers, becoming Hillary Rodham Clinton. Bill held the position for a decade, until his successful presidential bid in 1992. Hillary continued at the Rose law firm, specializing in intellectual property rights and child advocacy. She also served on the Board of Directors for Wal-Mart from 1985 to 1992, was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984, and made the National Law Journal’s list of the 100 most influential lawyers in America in 1988 and 1991.
In 1992, a "60 Minutes" interview which addressed potentially crippling rumors of Bill’s marital infidelity provided a break-out moment for his presidential candidacy. A surprisingly strong second place showing in New Hampshire’s primary put him on the path to the nomination. On the campaign trail, Bill used his wife’s formidable intelligence to advantage, averring that in supporting his candidacy, US voters were getting “two for the price of one.” It is a price voters may not be willing to pay again.
Defeating the elder Bush in November 1992, in January 1993 the Clintons came to Washington. The airing of the capital from twelve years of Reagan-Bush stagnation came quickly. Within hours Bill had fast-tracked FDA approval for the controversial “day after” contraception pill, RU486, and six months later came the abortive attempt to strike down the ban on gays serving openly in the US military, which mutated into the current “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Within days of the inauguration, Hillary got her first White House job—as head of the Task Force on National Health Care Reform. Hillarycare, as it came to be called, was a public relations disaster. It was eventually abandoned in September 1994 having never come to a vote in either House, and was used successfully as a club by the GOP in a mid-term election rout which flipped 53 House and 7 Senate seats to the Republicans, returning control of Congress to that Party for the first time in more than 40 years.
In January 1996 Hillary added another to her impressive list of “firsts” - she became the first First Lady to appear before a federal grand jury, in connection with Rose law firm records which formed part of the ongoing Whitewater land deal investigation. Though Hillary was also investigated for her role in Travelgate, Filegate, and White House counsel Vince Foster’s death, she was never charged with criminal action.
During her time in the White House, Clinton continued her focus on children’s advocacy and women’s health issues, pushing for nationalized immunization standards for children and increased mammography for older women, and helping Attorney General Janet Reno to form the Violence Against Women office in the Justice Department. She also supported historical preservation, created a Sculpture Garden on White House grounds, and initiated the Millennium Project, an effort to prepare America for upcoming technological advances such as the Internet. In 1996 she authored the bestselling book It Takes a Village, outlining her philosophy of community responsibility in child rearing.
During the 1998 debacle of the Monica Lewinsky scandal and her husband’s impeachment, Hillary garnered much public sympathy with her stoic support for her philandering spouse. Beyond an initial statement that the furor was the result of a “vast Right-wing conspiracy,” once Bill’s culpability became incontrovertible, Hillary retreated to a “stand by your man” position which some found dignified, and others considered outdated and objectionable. The affair gave credence to old allegations of Bill’s roving eye and inappropriate antics, with Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey and Juanita Broaddrick.
As the Clinton administration wound down, intense speculation ensued regarding Hillary’s future. When New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan announced his retirement early in 2000, the Clintons swept into the power vacuum, buying a house in Chappaqua, Westchester County, New York to establish residency. The home was the first they had ever owned, having essentially lived in public housing their entire married life, at the Arkansas Governor’s mansion and the White House. Hillary announced her candidacy for US Senate, and was initially opposed by New York mayor Rudi Guilianni, who later withdrew after a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Despite a strong conservative element in upstate New York and allegations of carpet-bagging, Hillary defeated GOP opponent Rick Lazio that autumn by a 55-43% majority, becoming the first US First Lady to become a political figure in her own right, and New York’s first female Senator.
Clinton maintained a low profile on Capitol Hill for the first year, learning the ropes and becoming familiar with Senate procedure while cultivating key friendships on both sides of the aisle. She sits on the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee on Environmental and Public Works, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the Special Committee on Aging, and a total of nine subcommittees. After 9/11 she made domestic security issues a top priority, which many saw as the beginning of a policy of triangulating traditional Republican issues preparatory to a 2008 presidential run. In 2005 she co-sponsored a bill to increase the size of the standing army by 80,000, and while she has been critical of the Bush administration’s conduct of the Iraq War, she is also opposed to specific withdrawal dates, a nuanced stance which has alienated many and pleased none.
Clinton was a vocal opponent of the Bush tax cuts, and favors their rollback for those with larger incomes. She teamed with GOP stalwarts Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) on protectionist trade legislation; and with former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), architect of her husband’s impeachment, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) on health care issues. She voted against the nominations of Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito, but her attempt to establish a 9/11-style bipartisan commission to investigate governmental failures following Hurricane Katrina was unsuccessful.
Clinton voted against both the Federal Marriage Amendment (which would legally define marriage as the union of one man and one woman) and the Flag Desecration Amendment, but in the latter case worked to craft legislation short of an actual Constitutional Amendment which would outlaw such actions as flag burning. This tactic further cemented left-wing discontent with her politics, and Hillary, who was always seen as the more liberal member of Team Billary, began to erode in popularity with the Democratic base.
In 2003 Clinton released her memoir, Living History, which became a national bestseller and garnered her a reported $8 million advance from publisher Simon & Schuster, a record for the time. The memoir sold more than a million copies in its first month.
Her announcement in November 2004 that she would be a candidate for re-election in New York’s 2006 Senate race came as no surprise. With a weak GOP field, Clinton was eventually opposed by former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer. She won re-election in a 67-31% blowout, taking all but 4 of New York’s 62 counties; a post-election poll showed her popularity at 74%.
On 20 January 2007 Clinton announced the formation of a Presidential Exploratory Committee for the 2008 race (see last month's Black Hole Case Study for more on this and other Exploratory Committees). Although leading rivals Barack Obama and John Edwards have made some gains in early primary and caucus states, Hillary has been well ahead in national polling since before her official announcement, and continues so today.
Born 26 October 1947 at 8 PM EST in Chicago, Illinois, Clinton’s chart has many important galactic factors. Chief among them is the double Quasar contact, to both the Sun and Ascendant, which describe the “over-achiever” aspect of her character.
With the Sun at 2 Scorpio conjoined the Quasar at 4, and the Ascendant at 29 Gemini conjunct the Quasar at 26, Clinton was born to stand out in a crowd. Quasar folks seem to have the knack of getting things done; they network well, and their contributions are impressive and impossible to ignore. Like a beacon on a hilltop, individuals with strongly placed Quasars attract attention and notice, and these brightest and most distant of Deep Space anomalies confer success and achievement on the native lucky enough to own one.
Interestingly, both points are within orb of out-of-Sign conjunctions to Black Holes as well—the Ascendant with the Black Hole at 4 Cancer and the Sun with the Black Hole at 28 Libra. These conjunctions are outweighed by the nearer contact with the Quasar, but add an element of magnetism to Clinton’s make-up, pulling others into her orbit almost effortlessly, while also suggesting that there is more to her than meets the eye. Secretive and changeable, there is a sense of working behind the scenes that goes with this contact, and a willingness to manipulate circumstances for her own ends.
The Sun is also square to Pluto at 4 Leo, giving rise to a sense of Clinton as empowered and powerful, a force to be reckoned with. Often judged to be the real power behind the throne during her husband’s presidency, Hillary is the stronger willed of the two, and has the capacity to be utterly ruthless in the attaining of her desires.
The Moon at 29 Pisces conjoins a Black Hole at 28, and the Nadir at 29 Virgo conjoins the supermassive Black Hole at 1 Libra. In a woman’s chart in particular, Moon or Nadir contacts with Black Hole energies often denote one who expends a great deal of energy in the home, the “Super Mom” who has a tight rein on the domestic front. For Clinton this seems rather to have manifested as the unlikely anomaly of a successful professional woman who doesn’t even own a home until she’s in her fifties. With the Moon also conjoined the Midheaven exactly, Clinton has translated much of these domestically-oriented energies into career matters and public service, which for her often focus on issues regarding women, children and health, all Moon-related.
Mercury at 21 Scorpio and Venus at 16 Scorpio both square Saturn at 21 Leo, the source of the public’s perception of Clinton as overly masculine, calculating, and intellectual. The rather severe hairstyle and pantsuit image that Clinton has cultivated as a Senator is part and parcel of this combination, depicting a no-nonsense, no frills, let’s-get-down to business air. Mercury/Saturn parses words and political positions with exacting precision (and considerable gusto), with a concise, crisp delivery. It can be rigid and inflexible in its thinking, and, having made a decision, will not change its mind or back down readily.
This trait is very much in evidence on the issue of Clinton’s refusal to apologize for her vote to authorize the use of military force in Iraq, despite strong political pressure from her party’s left wing to do so. Clinton will say that she would have voted differently then had she known what she knows now; she will say the authorization was misused; she will say the job was bungled. What she will not say is that she was wrong. She has gone so far as to state that if this apology is something that is important to a voter, he or she has other candidates in the Democratic field to choose from, which is about as close to a Cheney-esque “F–k you!” statement as any politician is likely to make.
Mercury is also on the South Node, and its square to Saturn creates a T-Square with the North Node at 23 Taurus conjoined a Black Hole at 24—it is her sharp intellect and focused attention which come easily to her, forming her personal comfort zone, but they are also factors which hold her back in others’ estimation. Mercury opposed a Black Hole is just as willing to obfuscate as to illumine; her words and pronouncements must be weighed carefully to divine their true intent. Often their meaning is dual. The Quasar which opposes Saturn and squares the Nodal Axis and Mercury from 24 Aquarius creates a Grand Cross out of this pattern, and augurs success and attainment in an executive capacity. The North Node on a Black Hole is also suggestive of a special destiny, which in this case involves career and her place in the world due to the Saturn influence. But it may be a will-o'-the-wisp, a chimeric future which never resolves itself into physical reality, but remains unactualized in a parallel universe beyond the Black Hole.
In addition to its square to Saturn, that Venus at 16 Scorpio conjoins a Pulsar at 15 and exactly opposes a Black Hole at 16 Taurus. Venus/Saturn can indicate issues with feeling unloved, undervalued or unappreciated, a not uncommon sensation for women with philandering husbands. It can also be seen as the signature of the ultimate professional woman, the female executive par excellence, and further conveys a very precise and businesslike financial sense. The Black Hole contact, which further evokes romantic turmoil, is a solid source for the huge investments others must make in Clinton if she is to attain her goal. (In her Senate re-election campaign, Clinton is reported to have raised an astounding $36 million, well above the typical range of $2-$10 million necessary, and more than seven times the $5 million raised by her opponent.)
The Pulsar and the Black Hole combined point to the newsworthiness of Clinton as a woman—all those unique “firsts” which punctuate her career and depend upon her shattering the glass ceilings which traditionally restrict female advancement in our society. It speaks also to the high profile Clinton has always given women’s issues, helping to bring media attention to them via the power of that information-evoking Pulsar and the reality-manipulating Black Hole.
Venus/Pulsar/Black Hole has its reflection in the union of another Pulsar at 28 Sagittarius and the Galactic Center at 26 Sagittarius with Clinton’s 29 Sagittarius Descendant. These have made their mark in the very public airing of the Clintons’ relationship dirty laundry. Their struggles and failures as a couple have been fodder for the media on an international scale; the Galactic Center contact indicates that her primary relationships have the potential to be of global import or interest.
Mars at 14 Leo is conjunct the Maser at 13. Mars/Maser is quick to anger, with a fractious temperament, impatient and sometimes volatile. By and large Clinton does not project this image, but she can come across as frosty and harsh, which could denote the strain of the effort to rein herself in and not respond heatedly. In private she is likely to lash out at opponents and recriminate bitterly. The controversy-provoking tendencies of the Maser speak also to the sexual scandals that have dogged her (albeit these are sourced from her husband’s actions, not hers), and the persistent, if ill-founded, rumors of her lesbianism.
A divisive, controversial figure, Hillary Rodham Clinton certainly has the talent, intelligence and experience to lead the nation. Whether she has the persuasive skills, ability to compromise and temperament necessary to lead successfully remains to be seen. But she may never get that chance, given the state of American elections, even if she receives her party’s nomination. As a woman, there is a built-in excuse for her electoral failure, a pat answer from the mainstream media for why the exit polls and the official results don’t match in November 2008, as occurred in 2000 and 2004.
Hillary Rodham Clinton is certainly the best known competitor in the Democratic field; she has traded on her name to become a virtual monolith, but that very name may be a liability in 2008, if voter fatigue sets in. Since 1980 there has been a Bush or a Clinton on every presidential ticket. Certainly we as a nation can do better.
Alex Miller-Mignone is a professional writer and astrologer, author of The Black Hole Book and The Urban Wicca, former editor of "The Galactic Calendar," and past president of The Philadelphia Astrological Society.