What a Turn

Powerful men can't seem to top themselves when it comes to sexual affairs.

I’ve never met a President of the United States. The closest I came was when working at the Kennedy Center during the Honors and saw President George Bush walk from the elevator to his suite in the Opera House.

The guy could work a room. He couldn’t win us a war or even pay for it, but a room full of admirers—well, that was his jam.

You can’t be shy and be president. You either have to be clinically insane or very close to it. You have to be able to shake hands, inspire, or at the very least gaslight and manipulate people.

Being powerful can spill over if you are not careful. Like wine on a dress or mustard on your favorite t-shirt, you must be careful with your power around others who work for you directly or, even worse, those down the organizational chart food chain.

I began my career in Washington, DC, as an intern at the Kennedy Center. It was January 1999, and I had graduated college the summer before. My older brother let me freeload for a while, and I worked at the mall for a bit, waiting for the right time to join the workforce officially.

That time finally arrived, and I, too, became a distinguished intern in Washington. Everyone knows that interns can change the course of history in this town.

This brings us to our next scandal: the intern, just a few years older than me, and the president who couldn’t keep to himself.

Let’s dive in.

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# 37. The Monica Lewinsky Scandal

Introduction

Monica Lewinsky was born to an affluent family in California. Her father was an oncologist whose parents immigrated from Germany after World War I. Her mother was an author, but I can’t name one of her books—not that I would have read them anyway.

Lewinsky attended private school, where she learned math, history, and adultery. She began an affair with her married high school drama teacher a year after graduating. During this time in the early 1990s, she also apparently had an affair with a married 40-year-old man when she was 18. By 1995, she had a bachelor's degree in psychology. I’m not sure it was helping at the time.

Her resume of running around was a perfect match for the Clinton White House. A family friend pulled some strings, and she landed a coveted White House internship.

Background

Bill Clinton swept into office after defeating George HW Bush, the incumbent president. This was the first time that this had happened since Ronald Reagan had done it to Jimmy Carter in 1980. Clinton ran on the economy, and his slogan included calling people stupid for not recognizing it.

Clinton brought a lot of baggage to the White House beyond his clothes and jazz instruments. He was fond of women, especially the ones he met. His liaisons with different women hounded him during the campaign and even after he was elected. Multiple women came forward and spoke out against his behavior. It was such a consistent issue that in the 2016 election when his wife ran against another adulterer, Donald Trump, and pointed out how terrible he was, Trump countered by presenting even more women who had sexual encounters with the former president.

I’m unclear how Clinton and Lewinsky first met or how they decided to get busy in the Oval Office or the office beside the Oval Office. It has been confirmed that they had nine sexual encounters, but none of them went all the way, as high school kids would say. Whatever the details, all of it was gross.

Lewinsky confided her relationship to Linda Tripp, a former White House employee who befriended her and then moved to the Pentagon. She illegally and secretly recorded the conversations, during which she encouraged Monica to keep a dress that had the…how shall I put this…the DNA of the president of the United States on it.

Of course, there was no way this affair would ever stay quiet, and eventually, the media grabbed hold of it. The story appeared in The Washington Post in January 1998. When asked, President Clinton waggled his finger and told the country, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” He was good at lying.

Outcome

The Republicans seized the House of Representatives in 1994 and were led by their adulterer, Newt Gingrich. They hated Clinton because they thought he was too liberal, which is hilarious when you look back on it now.

After the scandal broke, they immediately went on the offensive. Future Supreme Court Justice, another known sexual abuser, Matt Kavanaugh, worked with Ken Starr, who had been investigating Clinton and somehow not wasting a dime of taxpayers' money doing it. It should be noted that Kenn Starr would go on to be President of Baylor University and was forced to resign when it was discovered that many players on the football team were rapists.

The Clinton affair was manna from heaven, and the work these guys put in eventually led Newt and The Gang to impeach Clinton for lying under oath. It would be the first time the House would impeach a president since Andrew Johnson, who needed one vote to survive.

Clinton would have more breathing room on the two counts he faced. On perjury, 55 senators voted to acquit. On obstruction of justice, the vote was split 50/50. Neither came close to the 67-vote threshold.

Reaction

In this day and age, the Monica Lewinsky Affair doesn’t seem like a big deal. Maybe I'm wrong, but it sure feels that way.

The rest of Clinton’s presidency was spent clashing with Republicans and ignoring much of what was happening in the world. The GOP would keep hammering Hillary, and an entire industry of right-wing conspiracy idiots sprung up over the next thirty years. No matter what this woman did, it was always wrong. Not that she never did anything wrong, but nothing on the scale of these white male counterparts who humped around and lied all the time.

The impeachment of Clinton was such an enormous waste of time, in my opinion. However, it was an excellent long-term play by the GOP because when President Donald Trump came along, impeaching a president didn’t seem like a big deal. Now, we are faced with an executive branch that never has to face punishment. Fun!

I’m happy that Monica Lewinsky has moved on and tried to live a life of purpose. She had a whirlwind of social and entertainment opportunities but found that living was not to her liking. Instead, she earned a master's from the London School of Economics. She became a small business entrepreneur and a documentary producer, and by 2014, she became an advocate of fighting cyberbullying, which we are still struggling with.

I believe this incident was the beginning of us losing our minds. Yet, the scandal itself didn’t get Clinton thrown out of office. It didn’t stop Hillary’s political career; despite standing by her man, she was never fully rewarded. So, what was the point of all of this?

Okay, so what do you think? Let’s take a poll:

The Kennedy Center was the latest headline this week, as President Performance declared himself Chairman of the Board like he was Frank Sinatra or something. If you want to see a dictator in practice, watch what he did. He fired Board members nominated by President Biden. He installed his people, and then they voted to make him Chairman. Disgusting. Many friends no longer work there, and they were distinguished arts administrators.

I’m heading home to Ohio this weekend to see my Mom. My flight was canceled, which was really helpful, considering I needed to take her to her doctor’s appointments.

Her birthday is tomorrow, and she has had a few surgeries recently. Nothing is better for recovery and birthday celebrations than having your favorite son come home. My siblings, who take excellent care of my Mom, love it when I present my arrival this way.

Please keep my mom in your prayers. She’s a tough lady. She continues to improve, but the process will be long and challenging. The funny thing about going home is that I take her to Mass at a church about 45 minutes from her house, and not only that, but it’s also the church whose school was my athletic rival as a kid. It’s great to drive by the gym and be reminded of that horrible blocking call on me or the one time I shot the basketball OVER the backboard.

Anonymous is back home, and Blue will now have quality time with his momma.

Thanks for reading and supporting Okay History. I hope to return on Monday, but I hope you understand if I can’t. Have a great weekend!

Okay,

Chris

Like her or not, Monica is going to keep being herself. (Image: People Magazine)