Saturday, June 3, 2006 at 1:00 AM
Hillary: Back to 55?

It is legend that without Hillary Clinton by his side, President Clinton never could have survived his sexual harassment scandals. Now, as Hillary begins her own presidential run, she won’t survive long without Bill's political instincts beside her.

Case in point was Hillary’s disastrous comment May 24 when she announced her support for a return of the national 55 mph speed limit.

"The 55-mile speed limit really does lower gas usage. And wherever it can be required, and the people will accept it, we ought to do it," said the New York senator before the influential National Press Club.

The 55 mph limit is one of the most detested federal laws in U.S. history – a coercive, anti-states rights law that Washington wielded like a scythe over state legislatures, blackmailing them with loss of federal funds unless 55 was enforced. Particularly loathed in the Western states, the law finally met its demise in the 1990s despite a chorus of fear tactics from Democrats predicting carnage on the highways. No such thing happened. Fatalities actually dropped as speeds rose allowing for smoother traffic flow the roads were engineered for.

But the 55 mph law still appeals to dictatorial leftists like Hillary, an instinct that her husband – perhaps from his experience in the governor’s chair – is more careful of.

Though Hillary ally The New York Times (“All the news that fits”) never reported her gaffe, it was picked up by other New York media. Tellingly, when Clinton appeared in public to launch her 2008 Senate race this week, 55 talk was absent from her speech.

Bill, no doubt, had done a little coaching.