Several things -
I’m a little bit younger than she is. I know that influences my view.
First: She’s back in the news because the Clintons have a biography/movie/special coming out on hulu soon. Someone else is pulling the story into the spotlight & she’s part of the story. She’s not the one who drove the conversation this time.
Second: From what everyone seems to have said, it was as consensual. I remember thinking that she was old enough to know what she was doing and making her own decisions (no doubt because I thought I was old enough to know what I was doing and make my own decisions). It also made what happened between her and the president very different than what had happened between Anita Hill and Clarence Thomas (a supervisor who had sexually harassed his employee - not just had an improper sexual relationship with one and the area where there was a lot more focus was in the 90s.)
Third: So what that she said she was interested in George Stephanopolous? “Everyone” was. He was the “hot young single guy” in the administration. And the press treated him like a rock star. (According to multiple rumors, Sam Seaborn on West Wing (played by Rob Lowe, for goodness sakes) was modeled after him). He was even a throwaway line on “Friends.” I imagine a
great many politically aware people who were interested in men had given a thought his way. Saying that she was “after him” is right there with the millions of people who go to rock concerts and hoping to catch the lead guitarist’s eye.
Fourth: When this blew up in everyone’s faces, the Clinton team made the decision to preserve the presidency at all costs. It’s an understandable decision - a successful impeachment with a Republican congress (especially that Republican congress) would have been disastrous to both his successor and to the party as a whole. But there were huge costs to the Gore campaign, to Hillary Clinton’s reputation, and to Lewinsky. Part of their strategy was to completely distance themselves from her and leave her to fend entirely for herself.
But, this was the surge of the 24-hour news cycle (both MSNBC & Fox News were just starting) and when internet news was starting to seep into people’s homes. The Clinton team, with all of their knowledge and expertise and contacts and press savvy and the power of the podium could barely manage the changing media landscape and was hardly able to influence the story; a 20-something woman with next-to-no resources didn’t have a shot.
She’s owed an apology for being hung out to dry. According to both of them he’s never done that personally - just as part of a “public apology.”
It’s even easier when there’s a third party in the room. Wouldn’t Secret Service been in there when she went in?
So when a criminal gets busted & turns state’s evidence on his co-conspirators, he should apologize to them? Because that’s what I hear you saying. She was not only a willing participant, but if the above statements are true it sounds like she initiated the whole thing. On top of that, she kept evidence & told others, which is how it became a public scandal in the first place. Not exactly a figure deserving lots of sympathy.
Bill never tried to blame others for his indiscretion, the indiscretion which I agree was really stupid and bad.
When Monica confirmed Bill never made things right with her suggesting she was his victim I nearly threw up. You know a lot of men in Bill’s shoes would have blamed her for seducing him, but Bill owned up to his mistake.
Hillary took big brunt. She was also blamed for standing by her husband and her vows and not standing up for Monica.
I’m a hell of a lot more sympathetic to Ms. Lewinsky than I am to Starr, the news media, the right-wing talking heads, and even Pres. Clinton. The informal punishment of Ms. Lewinsky far outweighs what anyone else received, and in the case of the news media and right-wing talking heads, they profited greatly from Ms. Lewinsky’s bad choice to pursue a married, powerful man. The amount of blame being given her sounds to me like a lot of MRA-lite (or maybe just plain MRA) bullshit.
On the other hand - deliberately pursuing a married person, giving head in the office and keeping a semen stained souvenair and “bragging” about “big game hunting” - yeah, I’d call that deserving of a derogatory term.
Just as I think Clinton deserves an equally derogatory term for cheating on his wife and taking the opportunity presented by a naive young intern.
How long ago was this? After a long ass “investigation” by Starr, the Republican witch finder general, THIS was ALL the asshole could come up with - a blowjob. It was as much a waste as the never ending Benghazi investigations, which turned up … wait for it … nothing.
So how long ago was it again? Nobody gives a fuck anymore. We have bigger problems than a fucking blowjob.
Yes.
If I’m the getaway driver and I get 20-to-life, while one of the guys who went in the bank, kneecapped the guards, and pushed a little old lady onto the ground where she broke her hip gets a mere 6-months probation because she turned me in, I want her to say “sorry about that.”
