Hillary says Billy is just a hard dog to keep on the porch

Referring to her husband as "hard dog to keep on the porch," Hillary Clinton says Bill Clinton's womanizing is a "weakness" that she blames on childhood abuse.

Quoting extracts from an interview due to be published this week in Talk, a new magazine edited by ex-New Yorker editor Tina Brown, the Sunday Times quoted the First Lady blaming the President's childhood experiences for a chain reaction of philandering.

Referring to her husband as a ``hard dog to keep on the porch,'' the newspaper said that once in the White House, the president's assistant had to spend much of her time dealing with ``bimbo eruptions.''

For many years Mrs. Clinton believed his weakness was under control until the scandal of his sexual relations with White House intern Monica Lewinsky erupted and at one stage threatened the presidency.

Clinton said in the report that the affair with Lewinsky took place after the death of the President's father and their friend Vincent Foster.

``He couldn't protect me, so he lied...this was a sin of weakness.''

``Yes, he has weaknesses. Yes, he needs to be more disciplined, but it is remarkable given his background that he turned out to be the kind of person he is, capable of such leadership,'' she was quoted saying in the Sunday Times.

``He was so young, barely four, when he was scarred by abuse. There was terrible conflict between his mother and grandmother. A psychologist told me that being in the middle of a conflict between two women is the worst possible situations,'' Clinton said.

She went on to describe her vigil for many years to monitor her husband's faithfulness.

``I thought he had conquered it. I thought he understood it, but he didn't go deep enough or work hard enough,'' she said.

Asked whether their marriage could survive the strains of her embarking on a solo political career in the Senate, she said:

``He's responsible for his behavior whether I'm there or 100 miles away...it is their (the person's) responsibility whether it's gambling, drinking or women. Nobody can do it for you.''

Clinton is currently on a campaign-style tour in New York. If she decides to run for the Senate seat being vacated next year she will be the first president's wife ever to seek office.