Addressing the Lewinsky Scandal The Lewinsky Scandal rocked the lives of Bill and Hillary Clinton while in office. Monica Lewinsky was just an unpaid intern that started a sexual relationship with Mr. Clinton who at the time was the President of the United States. This event was the most important thing to happen in 1998. It showed how even as president you can fall to temptation like any other human being. Challenging the trust of the American people for the president raising questions like “Can we trust this man?”, “Should we let this relationship slide and pretend it never happened?” To this day people are still talking about this scandal making it one of the most famous scandal to date. This whole thing started in the summer of June 1995 …show more content…
Mr. Clinton left office with low public ratings and a title of conflict. In 1998 this was the number one topic you would speak about and to this day thinking back on the 90s this scandal surely comes to mind. Since the start of Hillary’s run for presidency we have been reminded of the mistakes of Bill Clinton that happened over a decade ago forgetting to separate his life from presidency and privacy. There were many consequences that followed Bill around at the time of the scandal many of those publicized. “President Clinton made a brief appearance in the White House Rose Garden and stated: ' 'Now that the Senate has fulfilled its constitutional responsibility, bringing this process to a conclusion, I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people."(The History Place) Mr. Clinton is known to be the most controversial president to date. “Widely considered the most investigated President ever, the Clinton administration was dogged by controversy from the very beginning.” (The History …show more content…
That one scandal is the Monica Lewinsky Scandal. The ratings of Bill Clinton plummeted drastically once this gut wrenching news hit the media. The highest rating was 73% while the lowest was 37%. His approval ratings and disapproval ratings were clearly affected in 1998 by this scandal. Approval rating of rating of 65% and a disapprove rating of 31%. (Holloway) People were already on edge when starting his presidency by holding too few meetings and being out right rude to reports speaking with aggression. “Bill Clinton started off negatively with his presidency by holding too few press conferences, allowing himself to be criticized for such things as $200 haircuts that held up airline traffic (a story later admitted by reporters to be false), and displaying anger toward critical reporters.”
The “Whitewater” scandal was a real estate scheme by the White Water Development Corp. Both President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton were involved in the scandal to make a land deal. Many people were involved in the scheme, which was held in the 1980s in Arkansas. Bill Clinton and his wife maintained their funds by the support of the Madison Guaranty Savings and Loan, which represented the Clintons in the overthrow of their Whitewater shares. The Clintons were being investigated when there were improper campaign contributions, political and financial favors, and tax benefits.
None of this would have been much of a problem had Monica Lewinsky had not told Tripp that Bill Clinton and Vernon Jordan instructed her to lie about the affair with Clinton. Supposedly Linda Tripp has Monica alleging this on tape. These tapes if finally released to the public should prove to be quite titillating, Monica Lewinsky claims that Clinton was very fond of oral sex and that she it to him on a number of occasions. It has been alleged by various news organizations that a secret service agent actually caught Lewinsky and Clinton in the act. It has also been alleged that Monica Lewinsky has a blue semen stained dress which, if true, would be direct DNA evidence of the affair. But it still would not prove obstruction of justice. If that was ever proven it could be an impeachable offence, a sexual scandal probably would not lead to the impeachment of Bill Clinton. If not then it will simply be a source of Bill Clinton jokes.
President Clinton and President Nixon both associated themselves with criminal actions. Both the presidents misled the American public, causing personal as well as professional problems. For instance, President Clinton released a false statement about his affair with Monika Lewinsky, causing a lengthy and costly trial, and greatly affecting his presidential career. Also, President Nixon caused a scandal associated with Watergate, which ended up with his leaving the office. Even though they caused trouble for themselves and others around them, Clinton and Nixon did influence the American economy to a great degree. Clinton practically saved the economy and lowered the US inflation rate, through gradual and advocated plans of reform. Moreover, Nixon was the first to go into China territory for negotiations. Ultimately, they have attracted the media with their antics, making themselves? targets of controversy and embarrassment. In fact, President Clinton and Nixon have become the subjects of public mockery and have been an embarrassment to the American people in the office of the President. Moreover, both men have been involved in humiliating situations.
Both cases were very much similar yet different. In the Watergate scandal many of Nixon's dirty tactics were learned, including assorted lists of enemies,a number of which became targets of IRS tax audits, wiretapping, political sabotage, burglary, blackballing, and smear campaigns(Geriouese). Similarly, as Clinton’s case unfolded, the scandal appeared to involve more than just a sexual assault.
Not only was Clinton’s act immoral as he was married at the time, he also lied under oath, which questioned his character and had an affair in the White House itself, which may seem to the public that Clinton was not being a responsible president. Clinton’s impeachment in the case was justified as he lied to the public while being under oath at the same time. Although, one could argue that the scandal occupied the headlines for long than necessary which hindered necessary policies from being debated or discussed and driving away quality talk (unit 7, From the
Richard Nixon's first term as president will always be connected with the Watergate scandal, the biggest political scandal in United States history. Various illegal activities were conducted including burglary, wire tapping, violations of campaign financing laws, sabotage, and attempted use of government agencies to harm political opponents to help Richard Nixon win reelection in the 1972 presidential elections. There were about 40 people charged with crimes related to the scandal. Most of them were convicted by juries or pleaded guilty. Watergate involved more high-level government officials than any previous scandal. It has been etched in the minds of millions and is still being recalled today when faced with the present day scandal of President Clinton. In All The President's Men, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward, former Washington Post reporters, recount, illustrate, and analyze the Watergate scandal time and their work in reporting and revealing these events for the newspaper.
an article named "Another Lesson about Pubkic Opinion" by Stephen Earl Bennett, when looking at public approval ratings of president clinton regarding the scandal was a shock. the author explains that although the ratings have dropped in the beginning of the scandal, it remained high through out the scandal. he stated that the reason for that is the public saw president clinton was effective regardless of his loose morality. in this case, the public seemed to accept the idea that not all public officials will be completely flawless when it comes to morality. also the public had chosen to to look at the situation as having a glass half full of water instead of it being half empty. after all, if president clinton is getting his duties done in his term in office, the public may possible be able to forgive him for his mistakes regarding the Lewknski
Before Clinton was elected President he had an encounter with Paula Jones in a hotel room. After Clinton took office Paula Jones then sued Clinton for sexual harassment. A short time later Monica Lewinsky began her intern at the White House. Clinton and Lewinsky began a sexual relationship. Judge Kenneth Starr was the investigator of Whitewater. President Clinton denied any sexual relations with Lewinsky. On October 8, 1998, the House would vote to have an impeachment and won. Clinton was charged with perjury and obstruction to justice. Bill Clinton would end up not getting kicked out of office by senate.
The Watergate Scandal also known as the Watergate Affair was the scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon. Members of Nixon’s administration broke into DNC headquarters in the Watergate building to steal top secret documents and bug the office phones. The Watergate Scandal that occurred from 1972-1974 led to members of the Nixon administration fired and the resignation of President Richard Nixon. After Nixon resigned from his presidency, Gerald Ford took office in 1974. When he became president he issued a pardon on Nixon. Some people think Nixon should not have been pardon, and some people believe that it was right for Ford to pardon Nixon. Richard Nixon shouldn’t have been pardoned because he is deceptive,showed no integrity, his actions were despicable and he committed or ordered a felony.
www.freerepublic.com "CLINTON SCANDALS," The Progressive Review Pub. Aug. 12, 2000 Posted on 08/12/2000 01:52:19 PDT by Jim Robinson.
The Watergate scandal had everything. Nixon disgraced the presidency by lying to the country and abusing his power and his committees were involved in illegal acts and a big cover up, all leading to little side roads of corruption and lies. Watergate is by far one of the worst presidential scandals in the history of the United States. In the story of Watergate, five burglars were found breaking into democratic offices at the Watergate complex in Washington DC. The break-in was passed off as just another burglary, but when the burglars were found to have connections with the CIA, questions were starting to be asked. Then when the phone number of Howard Hunt was found in one of the burglar’s phone books, it made people think, why would one of the burglars have the phone number of one of the presidents men? When Watergate was uncovered, it revealed that the president was a liar and a cheat. The president lied to our country, lied about his involvement, concealed self incriminating evidence, abused his power, and planed to have the CIA stop the FBI investigations. During the times of the unraveling of Watergate, questions were asked about connections with the White House and the president, but when the president was asked about it at a press conference he assured Americans that The White House has no involvement whatever in this particular incident.
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 action, and ultimately persuade the audience into moving on and forgetting the scandal. This essay will break down his speech into sections and examine the most and least effective strategies that Clinton employed and how well he executed those strategies. This is an interesting speech given under rare circumstances. Not since Watergate had an American president been under such harsh moral criticism from the public. By looking critically at this speech we are able to gain valuable insight into Clinton's motives.
Lately, the top story in the news day after day, months after months have been about William Jefferson Clinton, also known as Bill. Who could blame them, there is nothing better than a story out of the ordinary, especially one with presidential status. For the past months he has been the most talked about figure, being the essential topic for news, talk shows, late night comedy and even going as far as the big screen. Talk about 'Primary Colors' and 'Wag the Dog.' What has gotten to me the most however, were the constant flow of Republicans, along with a few Democrats, who just want to say how shocked and embarrassed they are along with the people of the United States.The president had not just become the most talked about figure, but also one history had ever seen, so far that is, breaking the record and becoming a topic of conversation and debate 'twenty-four seven.' The people, who I think were most affected by this crisis and feel very sad for, are the Republicans, since they had lost severe amount of sleep over the president's bedroom crisis. They had to perform their republican duties by shocking our brains with the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky. We had to ignore the rest of the world news and its issues while they plough through the valley of lies, abuse of power and something they called high crimes and misdemeanors.
On November 1995, Bill Clinton made a huge mistake that would cost him his position as the president of the United States. Having sexual relations with then intern, Monica Lewinsky has affected many people all over the world in different ways. Since 2005,Clinton has been rated as one of the top presidents according to an ABC News poll. Although he is considered a prime president since scandal has affected his family, supporters, the national government and relations with other countries. I believe the speech; “I Have Sinned” was intended mainly for the U.S citizens, his family and friends, the national government, allied countries, his religion and anyone else affected by this scandal.
In August 17, 1998 Clinton, after seven months of silence, Clinton finally admitted that he had an inappropriate relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. In a four-minute apologia speech, Clinton formally apologized for his personal misconduct, and at the same time, asked for support from the people to stop the lawsuit and accusations that came from the scandal. Clinton carefully and skillfully made use of logos and pathos throughout the speech to convince the audience that there were bigger issues at hand than his personal dealings with Monica Lewinsky. Therefore, he believed that this matter should no longer be the focus point of the nation, and it was about time to move on.