# During the Clinton impeachment, did many people truly believe he would be removed from office? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 23, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266 "2019-12-23T01:30:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/21 "2019-12-24T17:45:44Z")
Did Jones not put Clinton dropping his pants in front of her in the lawsuit? Or did she retract that claim? ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/22 "2019-12-24T18:01:53Z")
Everyone knew there was a better chance of the Browns winning 10 Super Bowls in a row than Clinton getting removed from office. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/23 "2019-12-24T18:36:26Z")
I doubt that anyone really thought Clinton stood a chance of being removed. The Republicans were probably just looking to make the Democrats stand with the perjurer and portray them to middle America (i.e., the swing states) in 2000 as an unreliable, dishonest bunch. Looks like the strategy worked, too. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/24 "2019-12-24T19:03:44Z")
Actually, it didn’t Approval of Republicans declined during impeachment, and Bill Clinton’s approval rating went UP after the impeachment vote, before stabilizing back to where it had been throughout most of his Presidency - mid 60’s. Trump can only dream of such approval ratings. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/25 "2019-12-24T19:13:05Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Ha ha ha. And in said lawsuit the only thing Paula Jones could admit to as “harassment” was not getting flowers on Secretary’s Day. From Paula Jones’ testimony: > [@](#): > > Q. O.K. Tell me exactly what he did. > > A. He sat down on the windowsill, leaned up against it with his bottom. And I was standing in front of him just talking because I was the one looking out the window. And he proceeded to – he just reached right over while we were talking and we were just talking in general and I don’t know exactly everything we were talking about but nothing sexual. And – > > Q. Do you remember anything you were talking about? > > A. I think we were talking about the job or whatever and about working with the state or something. I really don’t know exactly, but it wasn’t nothing bad that we were talking about. Because what was so shocking to me is I’m sitting here talking to this man but nothing related to what’s on his mind and he’s over here while he’s answering my questions pulling me over like he has done this a million times and grabs me and pulls me over to him to the windowsill and tries to kiss me and just didn’t ask me or nothing. And I was just really shocked. And I pulled away. That was the first time I pulled away. I said, “No.” I said, “What are you doing?” > > Q. Now he was still – > > A. I was so scared and nervous. > > Q. Was his back to the window? > > A. Yes. > > Q. So why didn’t you just go right out the door? > > A. You know what? This is the Governor we’re talking about. I had just met the man. A state trooper sitting outside the door with a gun. I know that. I’m terrified. And so what I’m thinking next is what was happening here and what am I going to do next to get out of this room? Is he going to stop here? I didn’t know but that would be it. But the man kept on and on until he dropped his pants. That’s why I didn’t run out the door. I was scared. > > Q. After he made a pass at you, you didn’t go right out the door, did you? > > A. No. Because the state trooper was out there and I knew he was out there. > > And I did not know but what they were taping and had him out there to – all kinds of stuff was going through my mind. Because I’m thinking, this is not happening to me. This cannot be happening to me. And I thought if I run out that door, he’s going to catch me, because Bill will know I’m fixing to run tell somebody. I’m not that stupid. I was not going to run out the door. I was scared to death. > > Q. So instead of running out the door, what did you do? > > A. I just moved away from him and got completely away from him. He was still sitting on the windowsill. > > Q. All right. And then what happened? > > A. And I went way over like to the middle of the living area. And I was talking to him about Hillary. I mean, I was just kind of trying to ignore what he had just done. And I was talking to him about Hillary and she was working with children’s things or something, children’s schools at the time, and I remember I was complimenting her on how she was really good with children. And the next, you know – > > Q. Then what happened? > > A. I was – he came over by the wingback chair close to where I was at. Then it’s like he wasn’t even paying attention to what I was saying to him. Then he goes, “Oh, I love the way your hair flows down your back. And I was watching you,” and stuff like that. Downstairs. And then he did it again. Then he started – he pulled me over to him while he was leaning up against the wingback chair and he took his hands and was running them up my culottes. And they were long. They were down to my knees. They were long, dressy culottes. And he had his hand up, going up to my middle pelvic area, and he was kissing me on the neck, you know, and trying to kiss me on the lips and I wouldn’t let him. And then I backed back. I said, “Stop it. You know, I’m not this kind of girl.” I mean. And it still – and then I ran right over to where the couch was. I thought what am I going to do? I was trying to collect my thoughts. I did not know what to do. I was trying to collect my thoughts. I did not know what to do. After the second time – after the first time, I had rebuffed him. And then when I got over there and I kind of sat right there by the end of the couch on the – seemed like on the armchair part. And the next thing you know it, I turn around because he was kind of back over here, and he come over there, pulled his pants down, sat down and asked me to perform oral sex. > > Q. What did he say exactly? > > A. He asked me would I kiss it. He goes – you know, I can see the look on his face right now. He asked me, “Would you kiss it for me?” I mean, it was disgusting. > > Q. Were those the actual words he used? > > A. Yes. > > Q. He didn’t use other words? > > A. I think that was it. > > Q. O.K. And what did you say? > > A. I said, “No. I’m not that kind of girl.” And that’s when I jumped up. And that’s when I said, "I’m going to get in trouble. I’ve got to be going. Not buying flowers, huh? ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/26 "2019-12-24T19:17:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t remember anyone seriously thinking he’d be removed either, but let me correct the record: Clinton was NOT impeached for ‘lying about a blowjob’'. He was impeached for perjuring himself in a civil lawsuit, an action that he was also disbarred for, and for suborning perjury (attempting to get Monica Lewinsky to sign an affidavit that they had never had sexual relations, for use in his civil trial against Paula Jones, among other things). > > The judge in that case hit him with contempt of court for repeated misleading or false testimony, and fined him $90,000. He also agreed to have his law license suspended for five years in a bargain to keep himself from being charged with a felony for perjury. > > I think the impeachment was a bad idea, mainly because removing a president is such a big deal that it should only be done with bipartisan support and strong public opinion for removal. But that doesn’t mean Clinton was innocent or that the serious charges against him were nothing more than ‘lying about a blowjob’. He lied to a judge in court to thwart a lawsuit from a woman accusing him of sexual assault. That’s a big deal. Agreed. After the Trump impeachment, I am reexamining my position on the Clinton impeachment, however it is ridiculous when people on the left continually say that Clinton simply lied about a blowjob. That is terribly insulting to women in the #metoo movement. First, Paula Jones claimed that she was sexually harassed on the job and that Clinton pulled his dick out in front of her. If the defendant was anyone not named Bill Clinton, everyone on the left would have taken her word as gospel. But, she certainly had a right to go to court for compensation. And previous to that trial, she had a right to take depositions, and due to rules of evidence which were enacted by the left and applies to every other defendant not named Bill Clinton, she had the right to ask him about consensual sexual acts with other people on the job. And she had the right to truthful answers. So, in effect, the support for Clinton is support for frustrating the redress for a woman who was sexually harassed in the workplace which the left is also against unless the man’s name is Bill Clinton. It is not “lying about a blowjob” or keeping adultery hidden from your wife. It denies women their equal opportunity to participate in the workplace without being treated like sex objects. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/27 "2019-12-24T19:53:59Z")
Sam Stone: > [@](#): > > Actually, it didn’t Approval of Republicans declined during impeachment, and Bill Clinton’s approval rating went UP after the impeachment vote, before stabilizing back to where it had been throughout most of his Presidency - mid 60’s. Clinton was a charming fellow, and managed to woo the public to see him as a poor, poor persecuted fellow. But when Gore ran for president two years later, he paid the price for his support of Clinton’s dishonesty and sleaziness. And sixteen years after that, that same support undermined for Hillary any moral high ground she might have hoped that the Trump-Billy Bush thing would give her with voters in swing states. Clinton’s high approval ratings are probably reflected in that fact that both Gore and Hillary won the popular vote. But having California and New York very very deeply on your side doesn’t help when you need Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania to win the presidency. And no doubt the Republicans of the time knew that (though I’m sure they weren’t thinking about 2016 at all at that point, only 2000). ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/28 "2019-12-24T20:10:38Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > Sam Stone: > > Clinton was a charming fellow, and managed to woo the public to see him as a poor, poor persecuted fellow. But when Gore ran for president two years later, he paid the price for his support of Clinton’s dishonesty and sleaziness. And sixteen years after that, that same support undermined for Hillary any moral high ground she might have hoped that the Trump-Billy Bush thing would give her with voters in swing states. > > Clinton’s high approval ratings are probably reflected in that fact that both Gore and Hillary won the popular vote. But having California and New York very very deeply on your side doesn’t help when you need Michigan, Florida and Pennsylvania to win the presidency. And no doubt the Republicans of the time knew that (though I’m sure they weren’t thinking about 2016 at all at that point, only 2000). Umm, maybe. Or it could have to do with campaign mistakes by Gore. Keeping the popular incumbent Bill Clinton away. The inexplicable pick of Lieberman for VP who added nothing. Nader running to his left flank. Bush’s brother being the governor and Florida having a Republican controlled assembly. The SCOTUS with a bizarre partisan ruling. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/29 "2019-12-24T20:21:00Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Actually, it didn’t Approval of Republicans declined during impeachment, and Bill Clinton’s approval rating went UP after the impeachment vote, before stabilizing back to where it had been throughout most of his Presidency - mid 60’s. Trump can only dream of such approval ratings. The whole mess did cause Gore distance himself from Clinton in the 2000 election, which meant he couldn’t really use any of that approval rating for himself. You know the rest. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/30 "2019-12-24T21:40:57Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > The whole mess did cause Gore distance himself from Clinton in the 2000 election, which meant he couldn’t really use any of that approval rating for himself. You know the rest. Indeed. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2019, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/31 "2019-12-24T21:54:37Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > The whole mess did cause Gore distance himself from Clinton in the 2000 election, which meant he couldn’t really use any of that approval rating for himself. You know the rest. Most of that approval rating was because we were at peace and the economy was smoking. Like all presidents, Clinton got the credit for the economy whether he was responsible for it or not. I remember that the late 90s were a great time. The internet was supposed to mean good paying high tech jobs for the remainder of time and because the Soviet Union had collapsed, the world was going to be at peace forever because the U.S. and Europe were going to be the New World Order that kept everyone in line. We had a budget surplus and a plan to pay off the national debt in ten years. Plus, I was in my early 20s and could still get an erection on command. There was nowhere to look but up. However, and more to the point, people were indeed tiring of Clinton, IIRC. Even the people who didn’t think that he should be removed from office viewed him as personally very flawed and were happy to be moving on from him personally. They liked his policies and hoped that Gore would continue them, but the swing voters fell enough for Bush in large part because he was a conservative Christian and it was sort of nice to see a guy in the White House that you could like personally. I mean, things were so good, you could allow yourself the luxury of being concerned with what now seems like a minor thing. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/32 "2019-12-27T03:30:17Z")
> [@UltraVires](#): > > Agreed. After the Trump impeachment, I am reexamining my position on the Clinton impeachment, however it is ridiculous when people on the left continually say that Clinton simply lied about a blowjob. True (and you’d probably call me a leftist). Perjury is indeed a big deal. > [@UltraVires](#): > > And previous to that trial, she had a right to take depositions, and due to rules of evidence which were enacted by the left and applies to every other defendant not named Bill Clinton, she had the right to ask him about consensual sexual acts with other people on the job. And she had the right to truthful answers. You’ve lost me. How are the rules governing civil trials, the rules of evidence and the rules allowing a plaintiff to take depositions, in the federal district courts of Arkansas “enacted by the left”? And those rules \*did \*apply to defendant Bill Clinton, who \*was \*deposed. That’s how he got into trouble. Seriously – what are you talking about? > [@UltraVires](#): > > So, in effect, the support for Clinton is support for frustrating the redress for a woman who was sexually harassed in the workplace which the left is also against unless the man’s name is Bill Clinton. It is not “lying about a blowjob” or keeping adultery hidden from your wife. It denies women their equal opportunity to participate in the workplace without being treated like sex objects. Now you’re really lost me. One can think perjury is a serious matter, and yet still believe that, in this particular case, it wasn’t an impeachable offense, and still support legal avenues for women (or men) who have been the target of sexual harassment to seek redress. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/33 "2019-12-27T06:31:12Z")
Perjury is a crime. But it is not a “high crime” if it does not relate to the affairs of state. Crimes that one can commit only because of their position of power are what impeachment was intended for. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/34 "2019-12-27T17:16:33Z")
I’m not sure how the right-leaning folks on this board can correctly point out that Clinton’s behavior was very serious and merited impeachment, and then turn around and say that Trump’s behavior – which, unlike Clinton’s, involved alleged misuse of public money and impacted foreign policy – does not. (I mean, besides IOKIARDI.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/35 "2019-12-27T17:48:26Z")
I was worried at the time that Republican Senators would vote to convict so that they could be rid of him. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/36 "2019-12-27T20:32:24Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I was worried at the time that Republican Senators would vote to convict so that they could be rid of him. Isn’t that kind of the point? Why else would they convict? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/37 "2019-12-27T21:25:17Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t remember anyone seriously thinking he’d be removed either, but let me correct the record: Clinton was NOT impeached for ‘lying about a blowjob’'. He was impeached for perjuring himself in a civil lawsuit, an action that he was also disbarred for, and for suborning perjury (attempting to get Monica Lewinsky to sign an affidavit that they had never had sexual relations, for use in his civil trial against Paula Jones, among other things). > > The judge in that case hit him with contempt of court for repeated misleading or false testimony, and fined him $90,000. He also agreed to have his law license suspended for five years in a bargain to keep himself from being charged with a felony for perjury. > > I think the impeachment was a bad idea, mainly because removing a president is such a big deal that it should only be done with bipartisan support and strong public opinion for removal. But that doesn’t mean Clinton was innocent or that the serious charges against him were nothing more than ‘lying about a blowjob’. He lied to a judge in court to thwart a lawsuit from a woman accusing him of sexual assault. That’s a big deal. I am solidly Team Democrat, but this is definitely 100% true, and Democrats do themselves/ourselves no favors by pretending otherwise. Bill Clinton was neither a good person nor a good policy-maker. Though we can say the same (and worse) of his accusers, he shouldn’t get a pass because of that. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/38 "2019-12-27T21:41:32Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I am solidly Team Democrat, but this is definitely 100% true, and Democrats do themselves/ourselves no favors by pretending otherwise. > > Bill Clinton was neither a good person nor a good policy-maker. Though we can say the same (and worse) of his accusers, he shouldn’t get a pass because of that. I’ve been thinking about this, and the parallels with today’s landscape. There’s no doubt that, in the 90s, I eagerly dismissed and overlooked the evidence of Clinton being a scumbag, because I was excited about the Reagan/Bush years finally being over and the prospect of more progressive policies being enacted. I considered the Whitewater investigation to be nothing but a partisan effort to come up with something – anything – that could be used against the president the GOP loathed. These days, Republicans eagerly dismiss and overlook the evidence of Trump being a scumbag, because they are excited about the Obama years finally being over and the prospect of less progressive policies being enacted. They consider the Mueller investigation and the current Ukraine investigation to be nothing but partisan efforts to come up with something – anything – that can be used against the president the Democrats loathe. The difference is that, despite his character flaws and execrable treatment of women, Clinton was a superb statesman and an effective president. And the behavior Trump’s supporters are willing to ignore would have had Clinton impeached and convicted several times over. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/39 "2019-12-27T21:56:57Z")
> [@Akaj](#): > > I’ve been thinking about this, and the parallels with today’s landscape. > > There’s no doubt that, in the 90s, I eagerly dismissed and overlooked the evidence of Clinton being a scumbag, because I was excited about the Reagan/Bush years finally being over and the prospect of more progressive policies being enacted. I considered the Whitewater investigation to be nothing but a partisan effort to come up with something – anything – that could be used against the president the GOP loathed. > > These days, Republicans eagerly dismiss and overlook the evidence of Trump being a scumbag, because they are excited about the Obama years finally being over and the prospect of less progressive policies being enacted. They consider the Mueller investigation and the current Ukraine investigation to be nothing but partisan efforts to come up with something – anything – that can be used against the president the Democrats loathe. I agree with this but I would quibble over it being just about the loathing. When I got the full measure of Trump, I realized the man was outrageously unfit and capable of doing literally anything to further his interests, and would likely be on a continuous crime spree from day 1. Clinton was of course not that bad, but in hindsight I think the Republicans correctly got the measure of him. He committed crimes in office to cover his present and past sexual misdeeds. > [@](#): > > The difference is that, despite his character flaws and execrable treatment of women, Clinton was a superb statesman and an effective president. Because Clinton was a skilled orator and persuader, and the Republicans are such transparently hypocritical comic-book villains, I think we give Clinton way more credit than he deserves. I can’t think of another modern Democrat so willing to bargain away his own party’s priorities and values to secure his own survival and legacy. ---
**Author:** ![Akaj](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/akaj/32/145_2.png) [@Akaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akaj)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266/40 "2019-12-27T22:15:23Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > I agree with this but I would quibble over it being just about the loathing. When I got the full measure of Trump, I realized the man was outrageously unfit and capable of doing literally anything to further his interests, and would likely be on a continuous crime spree from day 1. > > Clinton was of course not that bad, but in hindsight I think the Republicans correctly got the measure of him. He committed crimes in office to cover his present and past sexual misdeeds. > > Because Clinton was a skilled orator and persuader, and the Republicans are such transparently hypocritical comic-book villains, I think we give Clinton way more credit than he deserves. I can’t think of another modern Democrat so willing to bargain away his own party’s priorities and values to secure his own survival and legacy. Taking it as a given that Trump is several orders of magnitude worse than Clinton, I can now see why Clinton inspired such loathing and, furthermore, how that loathing metastisized into today’s climate. Time travel back to 1992, and GOP voters not only see their establishment guy beaten like a rented goalie, but the guy beating him is a smooth-talking philanderer and accused sexual assaulter. \*Those Democrats will back anyone so long as it gets them power – they’re utterly amoral and their policy proposals must be, too! \* No wonder Limbaugh and Gingrich found an audience. Not that this in any way excuses today’s disgusting, reality-averse GOP and their supporters. But we might have a little better foothold to fight back with if we stop defending Clinton. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/during-the-clinton-impeachment-did-many-people-truly-believe-he-would-be-removed-from-office/845266.md?page=3)