(2006-10-18) — Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, this week acknowledged that she was not named after Sir Edmund Hillary, the first to conquer Mount Everest, but insisted that she did get her last name from a former U.S. president.

The senator’s campaign spokesman explained that the Edmund Hillary legend was simply “a sweet family story” that her mother, Dorothy Rodham, would tell to inspire greatness in her daughter, and to teach the future senator “the value of a flexible, results-oriented approach to truth.”

The New York Times printed a correction yesterday, noting that the mountain climber was an unknown beekeeper when Mrs. Clinton was born, six years before he climbed Everest.

“It’s fair to say that Sen. Clinton might not have become what she is today without the false but meaningful inspiration she drew from her mother’s loving deception,” said campaign spokesman Jennifer Hanley. “In many ways, bearing the Clinton name has provided similar inspiration to her.”