One Huge Leap over the Line.

I want absolutely nothing to do with this story.

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton turned furious and considered legal action after learning bestselling author Ed Klein would allege in a new book: Bill Clinton raped her — resulting in the conception of daughter Chelsea Clinton!

“[Author] Klein is going to rot in hell for this,” a well-placed source close to Hillary said over the weekend.

Unless Ed Klein’s sources are impeccable and multiple (and form the excerpt Drudge uses, that doesn’t look true), this is as scurrilous an accusation as I’ve ever seen in modern politics.

I can’t even begin to understand the “why” behind writing this for Klein, who could never be mistaken for a card-carrying member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

I won’t heap cricitism on Drudge. He’s reprinting the sensational aspects of the book as they come to him. That’s what he does – tabloid journalism given to us snippet by BREAKING, DEVELOPING snippet. Someone fed him the excerpt and he got a couple anonymous and outraged quotes and he has a story that’ll get his site a bazillion hits.

But Klein? I have no idea what his motivations are beyond selling a book, or even if he has any beyond that one. But this accusation is miles and miles beyond the pale.

Every conservative who has laid eyes on this story ought to run, not walk, away from it as quickly as possible and make damned sure they don’t even think about using it politically. It’s poison for everyone involved.

More importantly, they ought to take a huge swing at Klein for bringing Chelsea into this. Presidential children are strictly off-limits in this country unless they purposefully enter the public arena. Chelsea’s taken great pains to stay out of the spotlight and we ought to honor that by leaving her alone.

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Category: President George Bush