BASHING: HILLARY OR ISSUES?

Much was made of Hillary Rodham Clinton's agenda when her husband was elected president. Would she be co-president? Would she overstep the accepted boundaries, whatever they are, for a first lady in the White House?

Now Mrs. Clinton is a tested commodity. She led the effort to reform health care. She has been stung for her handling of family finances in the Whitewater affair. She has had to defend a lucrative commodities investment. More than that, Hillary Clinton has become the butt of jokes and the source of considerable derision. She has, in effect, become a political lightning rod in an administration thunderstorm.

It is too easy to attack the woman who has put herself in front of some tough, high-profile topics. A better target is the suitcase full of social objectives she wants government to take over. These are ideas supported by hundreds of elected officials and highly placed bureaucrats. Hillary Clinton may be the poster child for many of those causes, but she is no different than her cohorts in her efforts to push these ideas.

Mrs. Clinton says she understands the attacks on the programs she has supported. But she is sufficiently stung by the personal criticism to be rethinking her role in the White House. She has learned a difficult lesson. It will be interesting in the next two years to see if it makes a difference.