During the course of Bill Clinton’s presidency, he often found himself under scrutiny for some sort of sexual misconduct. While the Monica Lewinsky scandal certainly was the apex of these problems, it was not the first (and maybe not the last) allegation directed toward Clinton’s infidelity.

Throughout this time, it seemed as if almost every American had his or her own personal opinion about Hillary Clinton. Still today, it seems these opinions are just as ardent as ever.

The case is often made that she is too focused on the pursuit of power. After all, she is pursuing the most powerful position in the world. Even further, many may claim the female Clinton has used her husband to gain access to this power — and that may be her reason for not exiting their marriage during the roughest of times.

As a front-runner in the 2008 Election, she is under more scrutiny now than possibly ever before. Even though the Lewinsky scandal was nearly 10 years ago, the nature of the Clinton marriage has found a place in the back of our minds.

In all the coverage over the past 16 (and more) years of Bill Clinton’s shortcomings, a virtually exponential amount of reasons and excuses for Hillary “staying with” the former president has been posed. But we have all but disregarded what is the most likely reason for their initial marriage and for their bond lasting so long.

Have we ever stopped to consider that Bill and Hillary Clinton are in love?

Sorry, newsies, but the real reason for their marriage is not as juicy as you might want. While it may go against our ideas of celebrity lifestyles, we have to realize that people in the public eye have a lot more in common with us than we think. They have real emotions with human wants and needs. And the Clintons are no different.

Their reasons for staying together are just like any other couple’s: They enjoy each others’ presence. They are attracted to each other. They share common interests. They find confidence in one another.

The Clintons are a real couple.

And maybe our disdain for their marriage may be based on jealousy. After all, is there a more successful couple? And, God forbid, a more admirable couple?

We all have heard that half of our marriages end in divorce. And we all know there’s bound to be many more marriages out there that are simply unhappy. The Clintons have definitely done a lot better than most of us.

So, before we accuse Hillary Clinton of staging a 32-year marriage, we need to work on our own relationships.

Doug Hite is a junior English major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected].