Opinion: 5-year-olds ask ex-presidents the darndest things

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Art Linkletter knew the dangers of talking with children in public. But ex-President Bill Clinton didn’t -- or forgot -- for a minute Wednesday during one of his campaign stops in Kingstree, S.C. And he paid the price.

B. Clinton is not running for office, of course. But he’s been traipsing all over the state this week attacking Sen. Barack Obama and campaigning for his wife, Hillary. She’s been campaigning for herself out west and in New Jersey in the Feb. 5 states and, perhaps not accidentally, not investing too much of herself in the Palmetto State, where she trails Obama in polls for Saturday’s Democratic primary.

But she has, not accidentally, maintained a prominent presence in the media all across the state by having her daughter Chelsea and her husband visit community after community, with the ex-president launching steady attacks on Obama. So there he was, the former head of the free world, in front of another audience of 400...

in another community center. And the ex-president chose to call on little McKenna Chance, who is 5. She looked so innocent.

‘What do you do when you get married?’ the girl asked.

Dead silence. Then nervous laughter.

Crowd members were thinking about some things. So was Clinton. Rarely is the loquacious politician stumped -- and maybe a little embarrassed. And speechless, as he paced the stage to gain a few seconds.

When in doubt, change the subject. Use misdirection. Clinton looked at the back of the room where the press corps, including The Times’ Peter Nicholas, was assembled, listening intently. Clinton tilted his head and smiled.

‘Look at that,’ he told the crowd. ‘See all the press people back there? They put me through the wringer this morning, and everything I said is about to pale compared to what I’m now facing.’

Clinton was referring to a testy exchange he had with reporters in Charleston that morning. He grew angry when pressed about backlash over his continuing criticisms of Obama.

But Clinton collected himself for his answer to little McKenna. No mention of the soap operas from his administration in the 1990s: the women, the investigations, the dress, the wagging finger and denials, the subsequent admissions.

Instead, he described marriage as idyllic if your spouse becomes your best friend and you have children together. He said that he and his wife, the senator, had achieved both.

‘In my case,’ Clinton said, ‘I got an extra boost, which is that until I became president, my wife also made more money than I did every year of my marriage. But finally I became the breadwinner in the family. I like that.’

Then he looked back at McKenna: ‘That was great! Good for you,’ he said.

-- Andrew Malcolm