On January 19, 1998 Matt Drudge posted an article accusing Bill Clinton and a young white house intern, whose name was not released until later, having inappropriate sexual relations. At this time drudge was not a reliable source because many of his gossip articles had been proven wrong, but because accusations were already being thrown at Clinton and the white house intern, many media organizations began to grab onto the story and produce more information. “The Drudge Report opened floodgates by making public what had already been widely discussed privately” (Cohen 8). The Tuesday after the “Drudge Report” was released The Washington Post had released a much more accurate story. According to Daniel Cohen on Page 9 of The Impeachment of William Jefferson Clinton, “The Washington post was one of the most respected newspapers in the country; it was not a …show more content…
She was a 21-year-old named Monica Lewinsky. This story became the biggest story for American and remained that way fro nearly a year. “It came very close to bringing down the Clinton presidency, and it may have forever changed the way Americans think and talk about their political leaders” (10) Clinton was under investigation for having lied under oath and encouraging others to lie about his relationship with Lewinsky.
When Clinton was running for president a women named Gennifer Flowers opened up to the media about a 12 year affair that Clinton and Flowers had. She told the media that she was given a job in the State House of Arkansas that she was unqualified for while Clinton was president. In a 60 Minutes interview, Clinton admitted to causing “pain” in his marriage but he also said “the allegations are false” (15). This shows Clinton’s “tendency to play with words and
The first reason why Clinton was the worst President is because of the scandals of his extra marital affairs that came out to light. Clinton impressed people with the idea of a family man in office. In the face of allegations that he committed adultery and maintained a twelve-year love affair with Gennifer Flowers, Clinton used five strategies: denial, bolstering, attack accuser, transcendence, and differentiation (Blaney & Benoit, 2002). His strategies would not work again when the media brought to light another affair. It was a slap to the face of the Americans when in 1995 Clinton had an affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House intern (Blaney & Benoit, 2002). Clinton lied about his relationship with Lewinsky and he allowed his family, cabinet and staff to repeat his lies for seven months while he remained silent (Blaney & Benoit, 2002). Pandora’s Box was open and the reason for his impeachment is that he lied under oath during the testimony in the Paula Jones sexual harassment suit, and to the grand jury during the Monica Lewinsky investigation. So, the question arises, “Do we want our Chief Executive and Commander-in- Chief distracted by scandal when facing decisions of great domestic and foreign importance?” Regardless of one’s ideological learnings the answer ought to be “no,” because potential problems affecting all Americans might develop without recourse to the best possible decisions (Blaney & Benoit, 2002).This brought doubt among the American people that his
A tragic hero is a person who is adored or praised by the public eye but then chooses an action that eventually leads to his or her’s own destruction. These kind of heroes have been around for an extreme amount of time. A tragic hero is most commonly heard of in a novel or epic, but there have been many historical tragic heroes throughout the real world. Every continent, every country, and even every state has had at least one real life tragic hero in their midst. The United State’s dealt with a tragic hero when they elected former president Bill Clinton into office. Clinton, who use to be known for his intelligence and great speaking abilities, is now known for his scandalous acts in the White House.
They were poor, but he was determined to gain a valuable education. He attended Georgetown, Oxford, and then Yale Law (Shields, 25). He proceeded to teach at the University of Arkansas with his wife Hillary. He held several public offices in Arkansas and was governor for five terms before he announced his presidential campaign. During the 1992 campaign, Clinton strived to lower the national deficit, gain universal health care, end welfare “as we know it”, and promote free trade, all while not increasing public spending (Shields, 5). Clinton undertook a neo-liberal, new democratic approach which was difficult during the times as there was increasing polarity within the democratic and republican political parties. Betty Glad, one of the authors of The Clinton Riddle: Perspectives on the Forty-Second President, states that Clinton was a good president as he was flexible while also maintaining his goals and stances on important issues (Shields, 20). She alludes that Clinton was passionate about his job and getting his bills passed, more so than other presidents. However, it was the Clinton presidency that redefined the lines of public and privacy. His sex life was made public to the world and that opened the door for all other candidates and future presidents to be questioned as well. This deformation and the various scandals that occurred lessened Clinton’s authority and
Public trust is at the heart of journalism. Such trust is built upon the credibility journalistic efforts. In the past, though mistakes have been made by even the most reputable of news providers, credibility was maintained and public trust in the journalist industry was steady. However, with the Internet taking its first infant steps into the reporting world, concern is being vocalized that public trust in journalism will be damaged by mavericks, such as Matt Drudge, who, without any foundation in reporting seek to tell the entire world every little secret he can dig up. And he’s been wrong.
What has changed in the media and political culture? Why is exploitation of sex and politics on front burner of the American agenda? The private matters of the President were once just that — private matters. Now they are published and are accessible to the American public by way of the Starr Report (http://CNN.com/starr.report/)and the mainstream media. The impeachment of the President symbolizes the pinnacle of the integration of sex and politics by the media.
On August 17, 1998, exactly one year after making the statement above, President Bill Clinton prepared to deliver a speech concerning a scandal that had gripped the nation for months. It is needless to say that this was an important moment during the Clinton administration. After accusations of sexual harassment, Clinton addressed the nation and admitted to having a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. In this critical speech Clinton set out to admit to wrong-doings, provide a few reasons for his
Perhaps one of the most interesting times in a president’s administration is during the end of his term in office. Having reached the ultimate goal in a politician’s career, a president no longer has to worry about public opinion or any of the other political give and takes that usually influence a politician’s actions. He is truly free to act as he pleases almost free of consequences. Bill Clinton’s final days in office certainly demonstrated this fact. Using the ultimate unchecked executive power of clemency Clinton issued over 140 pardons and thirty six sentence commutations. He protected over a million acres of land through the creation of six new national monuments. He also nominated nine new federal
The editorial begins with a comparison of Bill Clinton and Bill Cosby, one a politician, one a television star, but both dealing with sex scandals. Bill Cosby recently dealt with sexual accusations from multiple women, as Bill Clinton did in the late 1990’s, and the Washington Examiner uses this comparison to show how Bill Clinton, on the contrary to
Barbara Olson, the author of The Final Days: The Last Desperate Abuses of Power by the Clinton White House, was a conservative who worked for CNN and Fox News as a television commenter. She was born in Houston, Texas, and she earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saint Thomas. She later earned a Juris Doctor degree from Yeshiva University’s Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Olson was one of the women who formed the Independent Women’s Forum, which had a goal of maintaining a high profile group of women to advocate for personal responsibility and economic and political freedom. Later in her life, Olson became chief investigator for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. As chief investigator, she led the Travelgate and Filegate investigations into the Clinton Administration.
According to Ann Coulter (2002), Clinton’s entire presidency was just a game to him and he made a mockery of the American people (p. 28). Margaret O’Brien Steinfels (1999) believed that Clinton was a horrible excuse for a political leader and an even worse moral leader due to his mistrust (para. 6). Many Americans shared these feelings and were left feeling betrayed after they supported President Clinton. It certainly affected the way they would choose their presidents from there on. Daniel Cohen (2000) concluded that the Clinton Presidency would permanently change the way Americans viewed their political leaders as well (p. 10). Clinton not only discredited his position as president by having a sex scandal blow up but he might have fooled Americans with his deceitful, self-serving actions. These actions certainly constituted an impeachment and left doubts with the people he
The article discusses President Bill Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky and the press coverage of the scandal. The article begins by painting the former President of the United States of America as a thrill seeker who went to far. The Sunday commentary television programs took a hold of the scandal and began questioning the President’s ability to survive politically. The article also suggests the coverage of President Bill Clinton’s scandal with Monica Lewinsky was unique and a “perfect storm.” The writer says the primary hosts for the major networks were out of town in Havana (for the Pope’s visit to Cuba.) He says they had no choice but to rush back to the United States of America to cover the story. The article also pointed out how
In January 1998 most likely under the influence of the president Monica said that she has never had any sexual run-ins with the president. In the length of a work week Linda called Kenneth Star, the “White water independent counsel.” While Linda was wired by the FBI met with Monica. On January, 16 Monica was taken by the FBI to a hotel room and was asked about her sexual run-ins with Bill Clinton. And then she was offered freedom if she went along with them and did what they told her to do with the case. A couple of days later the story about Bill’s sexual run-ins with Monica. Then his famous quote came out saying that “I did not have sexual relations with that
While it is too early to accurately judge the presidency of Bill Clinton, most would agree that he was successful in office. He was the first democrat to successfully be reelected since Franklin Roosevelt. Yet, when a sufficient amount of time has passed and historians attempt to categorize and analyze Bill Clinton’s presidency, his legacy will ultimately be tied to scandal. The numerous scandals that Clinton faced – and survived –were an important aspect of the Clinton presidency. On one hand, they showed the well-documented weakness of Clinton’s personal character – his infidelities, his evasiveness, and his lack of integrity. Yet, Clinton’s ability to survive these scandals are a true testament how politically cunning and brilliant the man was.
Clinton impressed people with the idea of a family man in office. He was focused and charismatic. Better economy was what the American people wanted so that is what his goal was. During his reign he went through more scandals and controversies than any other president. He was impeached, yet despite all, he was loved by America. Our economy prospered and we had better diplomatic relations. The American people wanted change for the better and so they elected William Jefferson Clinton for their forty-second president of the United States of America.
There was an issue in 1998 that involved personal indiscretions with a young woman White House intern, which cause Bill to be the second U.S. President to be impeached by the House of Representatives.