Irony In President Bill Clinton's Living History

1296 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of religion in American politics

“Gulping for air, I started crying and yelling at him: ‘What do you mean? Why did you lie to me?’ I was furious and getting more so by the second. He stood there saying over and over again, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I was trying to protect you and Chelsea.’,” Mrs. Clinton writes in her memoir, Living History. Not only did the affair between former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky have an effect on his wife, former First Lady Hillary Clinton, but also the American people. This scandal also brought up questions of morality and whether or not Clinton was fit to finish his presidency. From 1995 to 1998, President Bill Clinton was keeping a secret from not only his family, but also the entire country. It all started when 21 year old …show more content…

“I believe that what my husband did was morally wrong. So was lying to me and misleading the American people about it. I also knew his failing was not a betrayal of his country. Everything I had learned from the Watergate investigation convinced me that there were no grounds to impeach Bill.” (Clinton, 472) How correct was Mrs. Clinton? President Clinton not only lied to the country, but lied under oath, which is part of why he is later impeached. Clinton was also known to be religious from a young age. He once said, "Religious faith has permitted me to believe in the continuing possibility of becoming a better person every day, to believe in the search for complete integrity in life." (ProCon.org) Adultery and lying are both sins and against God. This brings up questions of whether or not Bill Clinton was actually as religious as he insinuated and what other “beliefs” would he go against? How much Clinton’s personal life affects his presidency was up to the …show more content…

In the Starr Report, Lewinsky claims she is “in love” with Clinton. Imagine being in love with someone you can’t have, and then when you pursue them, the entire country is against you. Monica Lewinsky was basically alone through this ordeal, and every person in America hated her. She got in the way of a happy marriage, one of the most famous couples in the world at the time. Of course the did this to herself, but it took two to do what they did. While President Clinton was viewed as untrustworthy and maybe a “pig”, Monica Lewinsky was known to be the sexy mistress who seduced the President, the “slut” of Washington, D.C. All of America shamed her for being in love. After the trial and impeachment, Lewinsky cooperated with Andrew Morton to write Monica’s Story, a biography about what happened. She also was interviewed by Barbara Walters for ABC’s 20/20, appeared on Saturday Night Live as herself, and had many magazines publish articles about her. In early 2000, Monica was in Jenny Craig commercials to promote the diet company, but with all the controversy was fired and only earned nearly a third of what she was supposed to make (Gazette Review). President Clinton was impeached, but still got to keep his job. Monica Lewinsky struggled to find or keep jobs because the mistake she made when she was just 21 years old followed her. It’s not fair that the public can move on when it

Show More
Related

  • Similarities Between Johnson And Bill Clinton Impeachments

    513 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Bill Clinton and Whitewater/ Monica Lewinsky

    484 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lewinsky was an unpaid intern and later became a paid staffer at the White House. In the beginning of the case, Monica Lewinsky did deny having sexual relations with the President. Starr then found tape recordings of telephone conversations of Lewinsky describing her relationship with the president. Clinton tried to cover up the affair by having his advisor Vernon Jordan to have Lewinsky lie or having a job outside Washington.

    Read More

  • Who is Monica Lewinsky?

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Monica Lewinsky: Women in Society, Body Image and Feminism

    5508 Words  | 12 Pages

    In the current post-impeachment proceedings the question becomes whom it has affected most and what it will mean to them and their agenda. Obvious groups that will suffer most from the impeachment that are subject to the after effects are the Republican Party and American politics in general. As far as individuals are concerned, Monica Lewinsky has a good deal of post-scandal baggage. But what about those who will experience the effects of Monica and what she represents as a woman in American society? The movement which has suffered the most in the standpoint of social and political agenda are the Feminists.

    Read More

  • The Impeachment of Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton

    3306 Words  | 7 Pages

    Impeachment is the ultiomate punishment for a president. It is a long and complicated rout to removing a public official from office. The Constitutional process Article II, section 4 specifies the procedures to be used to remove a public official from office(CNN/All Politics). The constitution states that and president found guilty for bribery, treason, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. There has been a long debate on what should be considered a high crime. Different people in the House share different views. Ultimately it is up to the Hose to decide to drop the charges or further the investigation. If the public official is found guilty a two thirds majority vote from the Senate is necessary. The most recent president to face an impeachment hearing was Bill Clinton. A previous case involving Richard Nixon, Watergate, was held in 1974. Rather than facing an embarrassment with impeachment Nixon chose to resign in disgrace.

    Read More

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

    1763 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • A Women Of Castigliones The Courtier And Machiavellis The Prince

    836 Words  | 2 Pages

    The first lady appears to be trustworthy, in that she holds true to her contract of marriage although her husband has made and abomination of the sacred agreement. The marriage now, however, may actually be more political, but Mrs. Clinton makes it seem that she is not giving up on the marriage, a strong virtue especially in today's society. Mrs. Clinton is also a great liberal and advocates for many minority groups such as homosexuals. This appearance, whether it be true or false, appeals to the greater number of her constituents who are increasingly liberal.

    Read More

  • Richard Nixon Impeachment

    640 Words  | 2 Pages

    Out of all of the current presidents in our time the most interesting president to explore was President Richard Nixon and out of all of them he was the only one in term to resign. That Richard M. Nixon, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following articles of impeachment to be executed to the fullest extent of their nature. His poor choices and decisions led to his resignation. Although he did have some good qualities in helping the U.S. the bad however override the good. In the CRS (Congressional Research Service) It states: “ Obstruction of justice is the impediment of governmental activities. There are a host of federal criminal laws that prohibit obstructions of justice. The six most general outlaw obstruction of judicial proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1503), witness tampering (18 U.S.C. 1512), witness retaliation (18 U.S.C. 1513), obstruction of Congressional or administrative proceedings (18 U.S.C. 1505), conspiracy to defraud The United States (18 U.S.C. 371), and contempt (a creature of statute, rule and common law). Simple perjury in a federal investigation or judicial proceedings carries an extensive fine and up to 5 years in prison.” This was the first article president Richard M. Nixon was charged with by the House of Judiciary Committee. The vote was 27 to 1 for Nixon to be charged with the first article of impeachment, which was Obstruction of Justice. In denial of his liability in part taking in the Watergate scandal by saying he wasn't involved in the scandal He pointed finger at others that were involved in the break-in. However, tapes were found of conversations that proved his involvement and he was going to be impeached. Before he was charged, he made a resignat...

    Read More

  • Clinton I Misled People Speech Analysis

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Irony in Guests of the Nation

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the short story, "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict which men face when their roles as combatants force them to disregard the humanity of their enemies. In both life and literature, irony exists when there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony is defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning" (Thrall 248). In dramatic irony there is a contrast between a character's perception of a situation and the actual facts. Often "some of the actors on the stage or some of the characters in a story are 'blind' to facts known to the spectator or reader" (155) . The short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor illustrates both types of irony.

    Read More

  • Impeachment

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Only three times in the 226 year history of the office of the President of the United States has the idea of impeachment reared its head. Only twice has a president been impeached, and only one president has been driven out of office due to possible high crimes and misdemeanors. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton both were impeached by the House of Representatives, and faced trial in the Senate. Both presidents were acquitted of their supposed transgressions, and were allowed to remain in office. Richard Nixon, despite never experiencing impeachment, vacated his office due to increasing pressure to resign and spare the Senate from going through the process due to his obvious guilt. Nixon was actually in violation of his duties as President, but Clinton and Johnson were impeached by political rivals. Nixon’s actions were considered in such grave violation of the Constitution, that he did not keep his office, whereas Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton stayed.

    Read More

  • Hillary Clinton Women's Rights Are Human Rights Analysis

    1983 Words  | 4 Pages

    Some people believe her values are “a result of having lived through the depression” (Harris 673). She has seen the worst and hopes to make things better for her people. As a child, Clinton was “earning merit badges in girl scouts and starring in the girls softball league” (Harris 674). She has always believed women were smart and strong. Earning badges and playing sports might not seem like much, but it taught a young Clinton that women can do anything they set their mind to. Clinton went off to college and met her husband Bill Clinton there. As the couple got older, Bill decided he wanted to run for president. Hillary “went to Indiana to coordinate the campaign” (Harris 678) for Bill. From the start to the end of Bill’s presidency, Hillary was “extremely active in government affairs” (Hurley 204). She “[emphasized] the need for a global feminist agenda” (Hurley 204-205). Even though Bill was the president, Hillary applied herself as if she were the president. She encouraged equality for genders. Her speech “Women’s Rights Are Human Rights” was given right in the middle of Bill’s presidency. She used her economic power to create awareness of the gender inequality in the

    Read More

  • The Clinton-lewinsky Scandal

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Monica Lewinsky's TED Talk

    1078 Words  | 3 Pages

    Monica Lewinsky’s TED Talk conveyed an extremely emotional and personal message about her unfortunate experiences in the past. She gave this talk as remembrance and acceptance of what she had done, and how far she has come from that experience. As a twenty-two-year-old, Monica Lewinsky fell in love with the President of the United States, Bill Clinton. After a short two years, Lewinsky started to face the consequences and understood the depravity of her mistake. What was unlucky, was the fact that the digital revolution was just taking place.

    Read More

  • Irony in Everyday Life

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    In general, the discrepancy between appearances and reality is ironic. Irony is encountered throughout our daily activities and comes in many forms; verbal, situational. and the cosmic. Verbal irony is the most familiar kind, this occurs when we understand that.

    Read More

More about Irony In President Bill Clinton's Living History

Open Document