The Rhetoric of an Apology: The Bill Clinton Sex Scandal Essay

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

While the case was investigated, Lewinsky had taken the new job at the Pentagon. Lewinsky often spoke to a close friend, Linda Tripp. At points she discussed with Tripp her sexual encounters and affair with President Bill Clinton. This exposed the character of the President himself. The recorded conversations were later handed over to independent counsel Starr as a part of the investigation. This led to Kenneth Starr discovering that Clinton had sexual encounters with another woman and could be used as an addition to the Jones case. In fact that is what ended up happening. In a journal by Karen A. Popp called, The Impeachment of President Clinton: An Ugly Mix of Three Powerful Forces, she discusses how several forces continued to drive the impeachment process forward. One of the major forces being the independent counsel Staar. Popp states that “The Special Division expanded Independent Counsel Starr’s jurisdiction to include the Lewinsky matter” (229).

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

Linda Tripp recorded over twenty hours of conversation with Lewinsky talking about her affair with Clinton. The Public Broadcasting Service provided the actual Lewinsky-Tripp recordings with several remarks on Lewinsky’s love for Clinton. Lewinsky gushed, “I feel I just need to start over, and I know this is so stupid. But I don't know why I have these feelings. Linda, I never expected to feel this way about him” (“Lewinsky-Tripp Tapes”). Around the same time Lewinsky’s conversations with Tripp were recorded, Lewinsky got called to court for the Paula Jones Case. The Cable News Network shared that Paula Jones, a state employee from Arkansas, claimed that Clinton sexually harassed her. The court demanded that Lewinsky attended to speak about possible sexual harassment from Clinton, but Lewinsky denied any sexual relationship with Clinton. Linda Tripp wanted to clear up the Paula Jones Case, so she released the tapes of Lewinsky to a lawyer and administrator named Kenneth Starr. The news of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair surfaced to the public in January of 1998. The scandal caused political and media disorder. Americans felt betrayed by the president and questioned other lies they have been told. Through all the controversy, Clinton continued to deny the allegations stating, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” In July of 1998, Kenneth Starr summoned Linda Tripp to the court, and she shared

Bill Clinton is a polarizing figure who endlessly campaigned for higher office for most of his life. “The Comeback Kid,” who was constantly investigated upon, became skilled at defending himself. He commits perjury during his presidency when refuting the Lewinsky affair. Clinton’s reaction to the allegations in his infamous denial and later apology showcase his perceptively chosen diction and survivalist attitude in terms of his governmental career. After all the diatribes against him and cataclysmic career falls, he is still a noteworthy figure in campaigns and events today. Yet, the amount of resignations of political figure due to sex scandals after this one is also significant. Although he implored the American people to respect that even

While the mentioned Lewinski scandal happened at the end of the last century, it still can be an interesting topic for discussions. That’s why the Democratic party worries Donald Trump will mention this event during the scheduled debate with their nominee Hillary Clinton. Her campaign members search for a close ally willing to dredge up the most awkward, painful accusations against the candidate.

Clinton meets with his aides and tells them he has had no sexual relations with Lewinsky. While the Jones lawsuit ended without trial stating that his actions did not meet the requirement of sexual harassment under law. But Clinton's troubles did not end there. Lewinsky turns over a blue dress with a stain from a sexual encounter with the president. After taking a blood test and sample from the stain the sexual encounters were undeniable. Clinton again appeared before the same jury. He was videotaped live answering a lengthy amount of questions but never fully answering the questions about having sexual

One of the things Clinton is most famous for, but not the proudest of, is his affairs. The issue of Clinton having an affair with Monica Lewinsky is purely personal. It should have been discussed within his family and in his family alone. Many people seem to forget that Presidents before him have done the exact same thing. John F Kennedy is probably the best known with his affairs. This doesn't diminish the fact that Clinton took it one step farther and lied about the affairs.

The sex scandal involving president Clinton showed that a president would go to great lengths to cover up a scandal, even if it meant lying under oath. For a short time period the office of the presidency became a joke among many Americans, this event

Logos was used much less in the speech compared to ethos and pathos, but still has a great effect. He used logic to explain that he knows in order to be forgiven that he must change and repair breaches of his own. Also he says, “I cannot move beyond or forget this- indeed, I must always keep it as a caution light in my life- it is very important that our nation move forward.” He used logic to explain that in order for our country to prosper that it must move keep rolling through hills. He continues to tell the people that he knows what he has done is very wrong and that integrity is important and that selfishness is wrong. By owning up to his wrong doing and giving logical reasoning to the people that we must move forward shows that Bill Clinton knows what he is doing.

Like any inaugural address, Bill Clinton wanted to reassure the citizens of the United States who voted for him; but, also wanted to gain favorability amongst the rest of the citizens. He appealed to the ideals of

The Whitewater affair consumed the president 's final years in office. Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr 's investigation of crimes by Clinton and his wife exposed information that would bring charges of perjury,

On August 6, Lewinsky appeared before the grand jury to begin her testimony, and on August 17 President Clinton testified. Contrary to his testimony in the Paula Jones sexual-harassment case, President Clinton acknowledged to prosecutors from the office of the independent counsel that he had had an extramarital affair with Ms. Lewinsky. In four hours of closed-door testimony, conducted in the Map Room of the White House, Clinton spoke live via closed-circuit television to a grand jury in a nearby federal courthouse. He was the first sitting president ever to testify before a grand jury investigating his conduct. That evening, President Clinton also gave a four-minute televised address to the nation in which he admitted he had engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Lewinsky. In the brief speech, which was wrought with legalisms, the word “sex” was never spoken, and the word “regret” was used only in reference to his admission that he misled the public and his family.

Clinton’s scandal surfaced in 1998 and damaged his political career and reputation. Although his actions ended in his impeachment, his work still had a positive effect on the United States. Nadler explains if a leader of a nation’s personal life interferes with their job performance, then it should become the public’s knowledge. In other words, a politician's personal life should only be known by the public if it affects the public in a negative way. The article, “Bill Clinton 1993-2001,” explains the notions of some Americans after the scandal, “The majority of the people still see Clinton as having their best interests at heart. They think he was on their side, interested in them, and working for them.” The article goes in depth to say that despite his secret affair with Monica Lewinsky, his professional life was very successful. Additionally the article adds that he had success in social programs and budgeting in general, along with fixing the the government expenses. It was also said that Clinton accomplished all of these goals despite the bitter Congress he faced. Clinton’s goals for the nation did not interfere with his personal, self goals, or actions. A politician's personal life, like Bill Clinton’s, should not even be brought to the public’s attention as it did not affect the public and their

“He was charming and I was flattered, and I declined.” There are many women out there as well as men, who have experienced or better yet have said that exact same line to some person who has taken interest in them and they had to respectfully decline, sometime in their lifetime before. The only difference is that no one has ever experienced public humility like Monica Lewinsky did. Monica Lewinsky gave a speech entitled “The Price of Shame” in March of 2015 published by TED. In this speech, she discussed what made her a national trending topic in the late 1990s, how she handled the negative and small positive attention, how she is dealing with is and advocating on similar issues nowadays. Towards the end of her speech she begins to