The First Couple

In Washington the talk of the town this week will probably be VANITY FAIR’s look inside the tormented saga of BILL and HILLARY CLINTON’s marriage. GAIL SHEEHY’s 21-page report examines the psychological underpinnings of the First Couple’s frequently anguished relationship. Among the highlights is a rare interview with Dorothy Rodham, Hillary’s mom, who sheds light on the First Lady’s seemingly superhuman stoicism: “She is a very sensitive person. But she is able not to overemotionalize it…She doesn’t go into one of these horribly overwrought kinds of tizzies.” Adds Mom: “That’s one thing I never did, either.” Sheehy reports that the post-Monica healing process is far from over, quoting a source close to the couple who says Hillary has yet to forgive Bill fully. Sheehy’s verdict on the marriage: If everyone is addicted to something, as the President has said, “Hillary’s addiction is Bill. He is her only rebellion, the one thing she can’t logically explain.”

–By Flora Tartakovsky/New York