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Clinton claims raises eyebrows in NZ

Bill Clinton's autobiography - My Life - has been raising eyebrows in New Zealand amid rumblings the former US president has been less than truthful about the mountainous origins of his wife's name.

Clinton's claim that Hillary was named in honour of Sir Edmund Hillary, the New Zealander who conquered Mount Everest, has created more New Zealand interest than the former president's relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

On several visits to New Zealand during his time in office, the president referred to Sir Edmund as "the second favourite Hillary in our household", while Hillary herself has attributed her moniker to the mountaineer.

There is even an after dinner joke that goes: "What do Bill Clinton and New Zealand have in common? They both owe their reputations to Hillary."

But the story has a fundamental problem: Edmund Hillary reached Everest's peak on May 29, 1953, nearly seven years after the infant Hillary arrived in the world.

Edmund Hillary's autobiography - Nothing Venture, Nothing Win - noted that at the time of Hillary's birth, he was earning a modest income from bee-keeping.

Posted by thinkum at June 23, 2004 04:11 PM