President Clinton S Action Offends America

Kara Kohlhagen Mingyan Hong – ENGL 106 March 11, 2004

President Clinton’s Action Offends America

It was a scandal that riveted America. President Bill Clinton's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and his denial of that sexual relationship led to Clinton becoming the second United States president to be impeached. The Senate in the impeachment trial acquitted

Clinton but the scandal significantly degraded his presidency. Not only did the sex scandal involving Clinton and Lewinsky damage the president’s career, but also negatively impacted his affiliation with his family, his administration, the nation, and the world. “The President has insisted that no legalities be allowed to obscure the simple moral truth that his behavior in this matter was wrong; that he misled his wife, his friends and our Nation about the nature of his relationship with Ms. Lewinsky.” (Kendall)

Clinton’s decision of having an affair with Monica Lewinsky directly affected his relationship with his wife. During wedding vows it is explicable you stay true to the one whom you marry. President Clinton definitely failed in that promise to his own wife. Needless to say,

Hillary Clinton was deeply hurt and shocked at the findings of her husband’s choices. “She was at wit's end, under siege, in despair.” (Woodward)

“One might ask how is it that a President's private affairs could have an effect on how he does his job in office. The answer is not hard to come by: first of all, as

President, he is one of the most important symbols of the country. As such, he should make sure that his personal conduct is above reproach, and this includes the things he does in private. The reason why is that private matters can become public, especially for celebrities. And public figures should be good

role models for the citizens, especially the chief executive of the United States of America.”

(My) “Clinton lost credibility, and it affected our relationship with him. There are other consequences besides judicial ones. People don't respect him as much. There's been a price he's paid with his family and with the public." (Blain) The President of the United States is a role model, but after Clinton’s course of actions we question what kind of example was he for the world. Not only do we normally think of the president as a role model but one that we can trust, but all that was soon lost with President Clinton.

If he cannot even keep a promise to his own wife, then how does the world expect him to keep an agreement? With breaking the marriage commitment, fear raged across America knowing the present and future of the United States lies within a scandalous person. An uncommitted person is difficult and about impossible to trust. Once someone breaks the bond of trust it is challenging to retie what was broken. When he violated the trust of the country while in this position he did detrimental harm to everyone he represented. Not being able to trust

Clinton leads to a lack of trust in himself, the election process, decisions being made, and the overall government. “Which suggests that what the right-wing hate most in this county is not its

Democratic president, but the democratic processes that elected him.” (Why) Not only was there uproar within the United States, but other nations. The connection between other countries became weak. “This is an issue that has gone from being a personal one, to being a national one and now it’s a global issue.” (How)

More focus was put on the sex scandal than other key issues of America. American policy and situations were set aside for a while to concentrate on the major mistake Clinton committed. Michael McCurry stated his thoughts on the government work that was being completed; “There was a government to run. We had jobs to do. You know, we were not

appointed by the president, nor was the president elected by the American people to dwell on this very awkward personal story, this matter that was really about Bill Clinton, the man.” (Renewal)

The United States government could have covered other situations that would have bettered our country than discussing Lewinsky. Instead of debating over governmental problems, the world centered on impeaching the president.

Technically, President Clinton was not officially impeached. Many hearings were held on the possibility of impeaching him due to having an affair which led to lying under oath.

“Starr's report to Congress outlines 11 potentially impeachable grounds, charging the president lied under oath and obstructed justice.” (Lewinsky) As the truth of his actions slowly became public to the nation, he used the power of his office to influence the proceedings that came from the countries reaction to his choice. The first instance he did this was by going on national media and lying about having sexual relations of any kind with Miss Lewinsky. The next instance he took was in going before the federal grand jury and committing perjury by lying under oath about his actions. Also, he was involved in sighting Monica Lewinsky to commit the same criminal act and to commit perjury herself. “On his last full day in office, President

Clinton today finally acknowledged he testified falsely about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, striking a deal with Independent Counsel Robert Ray that allows him to avoid criminal indictment.” (Hartman)

Many Americans looked at this scandal as a negative toward the Democrat Party. Many

Republicans rejoiced knowing they can claim the Clinton Lewinsky sex scandal as a reason to not vote Democratic. “A statewide poll last month showed that the sex scandal caused 20 percent of the voters to say they would be more likely to cast votes for Republicans in the Nov. 3 election.” (Vogel) “Evidence of President Bill Clinton's political deterioration continued to

mount over the weekend, with one key Democratic senator saying he isn't sure how he would vote on impeachment and a Democratic governor canceling appearances with the president.”

(Clinton’s) “Views on the outcome were strongly related to party affiliation. Most Republicans favored either resignation or impeachment proceedings (63 percent combined), compared with only 12 percent of Democrats.” (Poll) “Not all Democrats are part of this Clinton crime family, and indeed, in recent weeks, several have come forward to finally condemn the rampant criminality of the Clintons and their administration.” (Klayton) Once a person does something wrong, it is natural to judge not only the person but whatever they believe or are involved with.

Even though the sex scandal has absolutely nothing to do with the certain party, many will grade their future decisions on Clinton.

One of the biggest impacts from Clinton’s decision of having an affair was from the moral choice of having sexual relations with a woman outside the bounds of marriage. This is the most important issue in my mind as it is morally wrong. There's a lessening of the moral fabric in our society, and maybe the leadership is indicative of that. (Blain) It is just unethical to have an affair not including the many lies being told. A person is to keep that intimate relationship with one person, the person whom is a wife or husband. Adultery is a wrong action but is only the beginning since it leads to other sins which results in worse consequences. In fact, this subject is addressed in Exodus 20 as a Ten Commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Holy)

The Clinton scandal involving Monica Lewinsky had a series of negative impacts upon

Clinton himself, the Democratic Party, and the country he was elected to represent. Many reasons explain why Clinton made a wrong decision and how it affected the world.

Bibliography

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Hartman, Brian. “Clinton, Ray Strike Deal.” 1998. ABC News 11 March 2004

The Holy Bible. Exodus 20:14. NIV

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Kendall, David. Dec 8 White House Rebuttal 1998 Washington Post 11 March 2004

Klayman, Larry. “Clinton Crime Family Marches On.” 2001 WorldNetDaily. 11 March 2004

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“Poll Finds Virginia Public Divided About the White House Scandal but Most Do Not Support Impeachment or Resignation.” 1998 Virginia Commonwealth University. 11 March 2004.

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Woodward, Bob. “Public Dramas, Private Toll for First Lady.” Washington Post. 14 June, 1999: A1.