# Why did Clinton lie about Monica Lewinsky? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 11, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646 "2004-05-11T16:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/1 "2004-05-11T16:46:41Z")
I am neither a Clinton-basher nor a Clinton apologist. I did vote for him twice and I think he was an excellent statesman in many respects and as corrupt as they come in others, and I think that he gave gays the best screwing they’re ever likely to get this side of a White Party, but I have never doubted his intelligence or political skill and I have to admit I majorly miss a president who could answer impromptu questions on subjects ranging from nanotechnology to Somalia to farm bills without a group of speechwriters and handlers advising him on the spot. I think that his extramarital affairs were certainly nothing to be proud of but of no significance to the nation but I think that Ken Starr was as degenerate piece of pond scum as has ever floated to the surface of the American political arena. What I have never understood about MonicaGate, though, is how a man as shrewd and intelligent and political an animal as Clinton could have such a monumental misfire as the January 28 statement > [@](#): > > . I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky. (Yeah, you can quibble about the term “sexual relations”, but I think that most anybody would agree that if you can get a STD from it, it’s sexual relations.) It’s a forgone conclusion that there were millions of hard-core Republicans who were going to squawk and cluck and rip their garments as if Clinton had raped a train full of nuns no matter what was revealed, and it’s a foregone conclusion that there was a Democrat rabid fringe who would have “cried ‘Alas, good soul!’ and forgave him with all their hearts: but there’s no heed to be taken of them; if [Clinton] had stabbed their mothers, they would have done no less”. But poll after poll showed that there were tens of millions of middle Americans (I’m referrring to political moderates, not midwesterners) from both Republican and Democratic camps who saw this as a private matter that did not warrant investigation and was an embarassment that needed to be stopped. Had Clinton addressed the nation with words to the effect of > [@](#): > > There are facts about my private life of which I am ashamed and which have the potential to terribly embarass my wife and daughter, but they do not in any way affect my ability to govern. I have willingly cooperated with the investigation into my political and financial history, but I am asking that this investigation into my private life stopped as it is hurting innocent people and in no way helping the nation while making a laughing stock of America on the world stage. or something similar, he probably would have met with a huge outcry of public sympathy. Why then do you think that Clinton, whose worst enemies do not question his intelligence or his “slickness”, thought he could lie and get away with it? I’m hoping this will be addressed in his [autobiography](http://www.watercoolerbooks.com/) , but I’m guessing it will be glossed over as much as possible, so I’m curious to hear what Dopers think. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/2 "2004-05-11T17:12:38Z")
I suspect it was a calculated statement on his part – so far as he knew, even if Ms. Lewinsky betrayed him, it was still simply his word against hers, and there was no objective way to prove the sexual contact. In other words, he didn’t know about the blue dress. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/3 "2004-05-11T17:31:22Z")
What else could he say? He certainly couldn’t come out and say “Ya, I had sex with her. I know, I know…she isn’t the most attractive woman on the block, but man can she…” So, he made a calculated statement and relied on his staff for damage control and spin. After the blue dress thing came out, basically the spin was “Well hell guys…it was only a blow job! Why get so riled up about it?” In other words, it was down played and white washed. This was almost completely successful in the long term, IMO. So, I give Clinton full marks for how he handled it. On a personal note, the reason Clintons actions disturbed me as far as the whole MonicaGate things goes (besides the image of the cigar thing which I still shudder from) is that Clinton was the US President. Personally, I don’t care if he is screwing the brains out of female (or male) interns right and left…as long as he’s bright enough to keep it out of the publics eye. Until it becomes public, thats between the husband and wife and the bimbos getting screwed…has nothing to do with me. I make no moral judgements. However, it was simply stupid of him to have something like that come out, and THATS what I deplore in the situation…the fact that the US President was involved in a sex scandal while in office and the fact that it became public in all its details. Billy boy should have picked a more discrete scrumpin partner IMO… -XT ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/4 "2004-05-11T17:32:07Z")
Reflex. Cheaters, and he was a chronic philanderer, alwasy deny at first. I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me. You can’t prove anything! ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/5 "2004-05-11T17:32:30Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Why then do you think that Clinton, whose worst enemies do not question his intelligence or his “slickness”, thought he could lie and get away with it? Because denial is SOP for any such accusation until there’s undeniable evidence produced. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/6 "2004-05-11T17:51:05Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Why then do you think that Clinton, whose worst enemies do not question his intelligence or his “slickness”, thought he could lie and get away with it? Well, the impeachment process was a joke and Clinton finished his term, so I’d say he succeeded. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/7 "2004-05-11T17:59:11Z")
Not being married to Hillary, I don’t know for sure why Bill would lie about it. But she’s the only person with a valid interest in any of it, and if she’s satisified with it, why would anyone else care? Most married men would tend to lie when confronted with allegations of an affair, why would Bill be any different? ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/8 "2004-05-11T18:21:53Z")
It’s an affair. You’re SUPPOSED to lie about affairs. It’s understood. If you took a poll of 100 people having affairs by asking the question: “Are you having an affair?”, I’ll bet that all 100 of them would respond “No.” It’s only when you say, “Well, I have these photographs…”, that they’ll start talking. The lie won’t hurt him one bit as far as his legacy goes, no matter how long Limbaugh wants to drag it on. So I’d say he made the right decision by lying and taking his chances. On preview, I see that BobLibDem has basically said the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/9 "2004-05-11T18:28:10Z")
Is it possible that he and his lawyers has the forethought and foreknowledge that oral sex wouldn’t fall under the court’s definition of sex? Of course, that would hardly matter, since he made the statement in a speech to the people, not in court. I don’t think most Americans follow the credo “Eatin’ Aint Cheatin’”. ---
**Author:** ![Rashak\_Mani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@Rashak\_Mani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rashak_Mani)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/10 "2004-05-11T19:21:42Z")
Would conservatives and religious americans have treated him better if he had been honest about Monica ? I doubt it. He just got tagged with another adjective of liar… which many consider unfaithfulness as being lying also. The Blue Dress was perhaps the surprise he didn’t expect… I agree with Xtisme. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/11 "2004-05-11T19:33:18Z")
As an elderly Southern lady once explained about good manners in the South, “A gentleman doesn’t talk about his ladies and a lady doesn’t talk about her gentlemen.” Plus Bill’s a bit of a sociopath when it comes to sex, but I’d vote for him again. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/12 "2004-05-11T19:45:28Z")
> [@Rashak Mani](#): > > Would conservatives and religious americans have treated him better if he had been honest about Monica ? I doubt it. Of course not – they’d slap Clinton with a big ol’ honkin’ ADULTERER sticker, then go dredging up for another scandal to add to their bedposts. “Clinton could be plotting to have Ken Starr killed – the man’s an adulterer, so who knows what depths he’ll sink to?” ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/13 "2004-05-11T20:05:52Z")
**xtisme** : > [@](#): > > Personally, I don’t care if he is screwing the brains out of female (or male) interns right and left…as long as he’s bright enough to keep it out of the publics eye. Until it becomes public, thats between the husband and wife and the bimbos getting screwed…has nothing to do with me. I make no moral judgements. Problem there is that a lotta people had a hardon for Clinton and were gleefully digging for any and everything that they could find, feed it to Starr and wait for it to be leaked to the press. So it was a virtual impossibility that none of it would become public. I agree that it was nobody’s business but those concerned. However, too many people wanted to find something, anything, to bash Clinton with and he was enough of a horndog to give it to them. Waste ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/14 "2004-05-11T20:27:08Z")
> [@GLWasteful](#): > > I agree that it was nobody’s business but those concerned. However, too many people wanted to find something, anything, to bash Clinton with and he was enough of a horndog to give it to them. More the fool him then. If someone is gunning for me, the last thing I’m going to do is give them more amunition to shoot me with. I’m as red blooded a hispanic male as the next guy, but I think I could keep it zipped for a few years if I had too. And, as I recall it was Mizz Lewinsky that went public with this. All I ask is the President be discrete enough not to wash his dirty laundry in public…thats not a lot to ask I don’t think. If he wants to screw interns (or farm animals for that matter), more power to him…just do it discretely and pick partners that won’t go public, or at least that can be bought off to keep their mouths shut. -XT ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/15 "2004-05-11T20:28:17Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > As an elderly Southern lady once explained about good manners in the South, “A gentleman doesn’t talk about his ladies and a lady doesn’t talk about her gentlemen.” But do Southern ladies talk about other ladies’ gentlemen and other gentlemens’ ladies? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/16 "2004-05-11T20:39:19Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > (Yeah, you can quibble about the term “sexual relations”, but I think that most anybody would agree that if you can get a STD from it, it’s sexual relations.) > [@Revtim](#): > > Is it possible that he and his lawyers has the forethought and foreknowledge that oral sex wouldn’t fall under the court’s definition of sex? The _whole point_ is that CLINTON quibbled about the definition of the term, and once the court gave a precise definition which didin’t cover oral sex, he knew he could make that statement without technically lying. The question the OP should be asking is why Clinton evaded telling the _whole truth_. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/17 "2004-05-11T21:37:52Z")
Throughout the history of western civilization, it has been accepted that most men at the top of the social ladder will take multiple sexual partners, and that they will lie about it when asked. Everybody does it. > [@](#): > > And, as I recall it was Mizz Lewinsky that went public with this. All I ask is the President be discrete enough not to wash his dirty laundry in public…thats not a lot to ask I don’t think. If he wants to screw interns (or farm animals for that matter), more power to him…just do it discretely and pick partners that won’t go public, or at least that can be bought off to keep their mouths shut. Well, Lewinky didn’t “go public” with reports of the affair voluntarily. She was called to testify in the Paula Jones case, but before that she had kept it private for several years, had she not? Besides which, there was no way for Clinton to know that Lewinsky had a back-stabbing friend like Linda Tripp who was going to browbeat her it coughing up details in what was supposed to be a private conversation and then hand over the tape to right-wing scandal-mongers. ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/18 "2004-05-11T21:52:51Z")
**xtisme** : > [@](#): > > And, as I recall it was Mizz Lewinsky that went public with this. Fair enough. I remember it being one more thing that came out of The Starr Chamber. Subsequently backed up by Linda Tripp. Frankly, I didn’t care about it at the time, and have probably forgotten many pertinent points. And inre the OP: Hell, he had already seen the amount of absurd bullshit that others had tried to make stick to him (Mena, Foster’s suicide, communist sympathizer) and probably figured that while he had been gettin’ some sweet oral lovin’ from Lewinsky, that if he denied it, it would become something that nutbag conspiracy theorists would obsess over and become forgotten in due time. Waste ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/19 "2004-05-11T23:34:57Z")
> [@GLWasteful](#): > > Fair enough. I remember it being one more thing that came out of The Starr Chamber. :smack: I only just got that. Creepy. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star\_Chamber](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Chamber) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646/20 "2004-05-12T02:46:12Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > But do Southern ladies talk about other ladies’ gentlemen and other gentlemens’ ladies? From listening at the door I do not believe they could have a proper luncheon if they did not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-clinton-lie-about-monica-lewinsky/244646.md?page=2)