The Psychological Assessment of Political LeadersShe was drawn to men who tended to skirt legality, convention,
and ethics. Her first husband had several wives and a number of chil-
dren she didn't know about. Her second husband, Roger, was a
sometimes violent man whose behavior got him in trouble with the
police. He was also a bootlegger, gambler, and bookie. Her third
husband was a convicted swindler. Even her beloved father, it turns
out, had a problem with alcohol,^3 and she learned while doing
research on her autobiography that her mother sold bootleg whiskey
from their house (1994a, 94).
Mrs. Kelley had a robust sense of self-worth, one she characterized
as supreme self-confidence. However, her ambition was substantially
shaped by her narcissism and her concern with her own pleasure.
How did these characteristics play out in the context of Bill Clin-
ton's early life?
Virginia Kelley as Mother: A Psychological Perspective
Clinton, in an interview with Charles Allen, said of his mother,
She was, I thought, a good role model in three ways. She always
worked, did a good job as a parent; and we had plenty of adver-
sity in our lives when I was growing up and I think she handled
it real well, and I think she... gave me a high pain threshold,
which, I think, is a very important thing to have in public life.
You have to be able to ... take a lot of criticism—suffer defeats
and get up and fight again. (Allen 1991, 20, emphasis added)
In many respects the evidence points to the fact that Mrs. Kelley's
own emotional needs took precedence over those of her children. It is
plausible to argue that in choosing to go to New Orleans for several
years she might well have thought the short-term sacrifices for her
and her son were worth the long-term benefits associated with fur-
thering her career, but the same cannot be said for her immersion in
partying and nightlife. Her disinclination or inability to moderate
her party life calls into question the altruistic justification she pro-
vides for having left Hope. More important, her excessive partying
was a constant reminder to her son, once she returned, of exactly
what her priorities were.
Her partying and nightlife were not necessarily more important to
her than her children, but in terms of her allocation of time and