As if she didn't have enough problems already, US Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is again facing questions regarding her husband's fidelity.

The accusations stem from a lengthy Vanity Fair profile (June edition) that portrays the former US President as an irresponsible womaniser and in a negative light. Penned by former White House correspondent for the New York Times Todd S Purdum, the 9,600 word marathon anonymously quotes aides and assistants who feel Ole Bill hasn't been quite the same since a 2004 heart surgery.

In a swift response, the former US President's office on Sunday sent a memo to reporters calling Purdum's story 'journalism of personal destruction at its worst,' that ignores the many contributions of the humanitarian group, the Clinton Foundation.

In the contentious article, Purdum relates that several of Clinton's former aides told him over a year ago that Bill's upper-tier assistants had staged an 'intervention' of sorts, an effort to keep Bill on the straight and narrow, especially in regards to his love life.

Purdom pulls no punches, implying that Clinton, still beloved by many in the US and abroad, has lost his diplomatic touch.

"There seems to be an abiding anger in him, and not just the summer thunderstorms of old. He has been called into question repeatedly by top staff," Purdum quotes an aide as saying.

Though Hillary's campaign has yet to comment, the article makes sense, given husband Bill's strange behaviour during Hillary's drive for the presidency. In January, he ripped into a reporter for asking a seemingly innocuous question about the Nevada state primary. Then, in February, a Barack Obama supporter claimed to have been slapped by Bill after heckling the former President during an Ohio campaign rally. According to insiders in the Hillary camp, Bill's outbursts have become both frequent and fierce, leading many to try and convince him to distance himself from his wife's White House quest.

None of this portends well for Mrs Clinton, who is trying to galvanise support for a campaign that most pundits agree is on its last legs.

Image: Bill Clinton [Images] greets supporters during a campaign event for Hillary Clinton in Kentucky last month.

Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images