The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal
On January 17th, 1998, President Clinton videotaped a deposition for the Paula Jones lawsuit against him. December 19th, eleven months later, Bill Clinton became only the second president in our nation's history to face impeachment from congress. The 1998-1999 was a tumultuous year for the President, the media, and the American people as a whole. Yet, the most intriguing and surprising aspect of the scandal was not that Bill Clinton would ever cheat on his wife or that his administration would survive such a terrible scandal. Nor was it a revelation that the media would be zealously intrigued by a sex scandal involving the President. The one aspect of the Lewinksy Scandal that was truly interesting was the response of the public. Despite the knowledge that Clinton had an affair with an intern and probably lied about it, Clinton's job approval rating did not decrease or even stay the same- his ratings rose to levels approaching 70% Every time a new damning piece of evidence came to light, media pundits everywhere believed that Clinton's ratings would fall. Yet, they were wrong. The Republican Party believed that the scandal would finally bring down Clinton and his popular support. They also were wrong and paid a conside
Another effect of the numerous scandals was that it created negative attention and an adversarial relationship between Clinton and the media - specifically the White House Corps. This plan failed and was a source of hostility between the Old and elite Media and the White House. At the same time, however, the scandals desensitized the public. But the media was not able to "translate its outrage and criticism of the President into any meaningful change in public opinion. " Another scandal involving Bill Clinton did not and would not surprise anyone. The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal began in January 1998. The importance of illustrating Clinton's past encounters with scandal is not to show the moral weakness of Clinton's character; nor is it to show cagey moves of a political mastermind. The way that each actor has dealt with Clinton's scandal-ridden past has had an important effect on how each responded to and was affected by the Lewinsky Scandal. The arrogance, as demonstrated by his continual denials and tedious use of language, is a direct result of his past encounters with scandals and the media. New Media is generally defined as the Internet, cable, talk radio,etc. The scandals cultivated a lack of trust between all three. Yet, the Lewinsky Affair quickly transformed from a discreet affair into a Constitutional crisis. Clinton's initial response to the accusations were similar to his previous experiences with scandal -- damage limitation and image restoration Clinton's damage control, designed to "court public sentiment and diminish the visibility of this potentially damaging episode" , followed three paths. Clinton was not the first president to have an affair or perpetrate other scandalous activities, but his personal life has certainly endured the most scrutiny and federal investigations.
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Acceptance Essays
