Letter: Is the First Lady a Stepford Wife?

Sir: It was interesting to read of Hillary Clinton being referred to by Polly Toynbee as a "Stepford Wife". Mrs Clinton may be a lot of things, but a Stepford Wife she definitely ain't - ask anyone in the Republican Party, the Chinese government, the American Bar Association or the Nixon Watergate Impeachment Committee - the list is endless.

It is sad and pathetic that someone of her intellect, integrity and rare good intentions can be maligned by so many people - first, being thought of as a raving feminist and then as a cookie-baking Barbara Bush wannabe. Male politicians change tack every day - it's called public relations.

It is another sad fact that one does not win votes from the fiercely right moral majority in the US by endorsing equal rights for women and children, and government-subsidised health programmes. She is only playing the enemy at their own game - and winning quite nicely by all accounts.

Yours faithfully,

Sandra Andolora

London, NW4

1 December