Monica Lewinsky back in the news

[YankeeFan]

He's a guy who can't keep his deck in his pants. Which doesn't mean that he should never be allowed to hold a job.

It hasn't really hurt his earning potential.

 

[LongTimeListener]

I'm honestly wondering here ... in American politics, was there anything before Gary Hart to go with the idea that philandering was a disqualifier for public office? I don't recall it, and certainly side action was a time-honored tradition here (and still is around the globe).

So. Manifestation of the GOP's alliance with the Christian right hatched in the '80s? Lee Atwater-Karl Rove type strategy purely to win the campaign in front of them? Or a byproduct of many radio and cable TV stations needing many hours to fill?

Really, before the late '80s or early '90s there was nothing about it that would have prevented a man from holding high office in government or business. In fact I'd guess well over half of those men were taking such privileges.

 

[YankeeFan]

Who's said that philandering was a disqualifier for public office?

This isn't philandering:

BRADLEY: And what happened next?

WILLEY: Well, he -- he said he would do everything that he could to -- to -- to help, and I turned around and -- out of the -- out of the office, and he followed me to -- I thought he was going to open the door to the -- to the Oval office, and right as we got to the door, he stopped and he gave me a big hug and said that he was very sorry that this was happening to me.

And -- I had -- had no problem with that, because when I saw -- every time I saw him, he would hug me.

He use -- just does that, is like that.

And, I remember I had -- still had this coffee cup in my hand, and it was kind of in between us, and I didn't want it to spill on him or me, and -- and it just was this -- it was just very strange. And he -- he took the coffee cup out of my hand and he put it on a bookshelf, and -- and -- he -- this hug lasted a little longer than I thought necessary, but at the same time -- I mean, I was not concerned about it. And then he -- then he -- and then he kissed me on -- on my mouth, and -- and pulled me closer to him. And -- I remember thinking -- I just remember thinking, "what in the world is he doing?" I -- it -- I just thought, "what is he doing?" And, I -- I pushed back away from him, and -- he -- he -- he -- he -- he's a big man.

And he -- he had his arms -- they were tight around me, and he -- he -- he touched me.

BRADLEY: Touched you how?

WILLEY: Well, he -- he -- he touched my breasts with his hand, and, I -- I -- I -- I was -- I -- I was just startled.

I was -- I was just...

BRADLEY: This -- this wasn't an accidental grazing touch?

WILLEY: No.

And -- then he -- whispered -- he -- he -- said in -- in my ears that, "I -- I've wanted to do this ever since I laid eyes on you." And -- I remember -- I remember saying to him, "aren't you afraid that somebody's going to walk in here?" The -- and, he said -- he said, "no. No, I'm -- no, I'm not." And -- and then -- and -- and then he took my hand, and he -- and he put it on him. And, that's when I pushed away from him and -- and decided it was time to get out of there.

BRADLEY: When you say he took your hand...

WILLEY: Right.

BRADLEY: ... and put it on him...

WILLEY: Hum-hum.

BRADLEY: Where on him?

WILLEY: On -- on his genitals.

BRADLEY: Was he a -- aroused?

WILLEY: Yes.

BRADLEY: He was.

WILLEY: Yes.

BRADLEY: What were you thinking?

WILLEY: Well, I -- I was -- there was -- I -- there were all kinds of things going through my mind.

I -- I think as -- when I think back on it, it was kind of like I was watching it in slow motion, and -- and thinking surely this is not happening. And, at the same time, I -- I wanted to -- I thought, "well, maybe I ought to just give him a good slap across the face." And then I thought, "well, I don't think you can slap the President of the United States like that." And -- and I just decided it was just time to get out of there.

BRADLEY: Did you say anything to him, or was there anything about your behavior that invited an advance?

WILLEY: I -- I -- I have gone over this so many times, so very many times, because I think that your natural instinct is to wonder, "Did I bring this on? Did I send a -- a -- the wrong signal?" The only signals that I was sending that day, was that I was very upset, very distraught, and I needed to help my husband.

BRADLEY: Did you feel intimidated?

WILLEY: I didn't feel intimidated.

I just felt overpowered.

BRADLEY: Did you ever say, "stop.

No. Get away from me?"

WILLEY: I just -- I -- I pushed him away.

I pushed him away, and -- and I said, "I think I -- I'd better go."

BRADLEY: And what did he say?

WILLEY: He -- he -- he kept looking at his watch, 'cause he told me that he had a meeting, and he said -- he said -- that he could -- he said they could wait.

And I said, "Well..." I said, "well, I'm leaving."

BRADLEY: When you walked out of there, what -- what were you thinking?

WILLEY: I just could not believe that that had happened in that office.

I -- I just could not believe -- the recklessness of that act.

http://partners.nytimes.com/library/politics/031698clinton-willey-text.html

 

[LongTimeListener]

Willey's second husband, Edward E. Willey Jr., committed suicide on November 29, 1993 — the day she claimed Clinton's sexual misconduct took place. She wrote in her book and acknowledged in a 60 Minutes interview her suspicions of the Clinton's involvement in her husband's suicide pointing to similarities of White House aide Vince Foster's death which was also determined as suicide.

Yeah. So.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

Who's said that philandering was a disqualifier for public office?

This isn't philandering:

Mark Sanford:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/sanford-should-apologize_b_221019.html

Charlie Crist:

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/charlie-crist-loves-obamacare-gop-asks-what-he-thinks-bill-clinton

John Ensign:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/06/sanford-and-ensign-called-on-clinton-to-resign-after-his-affair.html

 

[H.L. Mencken]

Both sides do it!!!!!!

Since we're going to play this game foreva and eva, we might as well drag up Kitty Kelley's claims bout Ronald Reagan knocking up one of his conquests, leaving her, then raping Selene Walters, back when date rape was no big deal.

http://www.bartcop.com/reagan-rapist.htm

KELLEY CLAIMS: After the breakup of his marriage to Wyman and before he met Nancy, Reagan had an affair with starlet Jacqueline Park, later the mistress of Warner Bros. studio boss Jack Warner. Park told Kelley that when the two began dating, Reagan "couldn't perform sexually. I think he was still suffering withdrawal pains from [former wife] Jane Wyman." Throughout their liaison, Park said, "He never took me out in public, never gave me a present and never ever paid for a cab for me." According to Park, she became pregnant; Reagan denied that the child was his and ended the affair.

JACQUELINE PARK SAYS: Kelley quoted her fairly accurately. "When I told him I was pregnant, he said he didn't want to have anything to do with me anymore. He just ran out on me. He was a swinger in those days. He went out with this girl and that girl. But the moment he married Nancy and became a Republican, he was reformed, and there's nothing more boring than a reformed swinger."

SELENE WALTERS: "THE BATTLE OF THE COUCH"

KELLEY CLAIMS: Reagan met starlet Selene Walters in a Hollywood nightclub in the early 1950s. "Although I was on a date," she quotes Walters as saying, "Ronnie kept whispering in my ear, 'I'd like to call you. How can I get in touch with you?' "Hoping that Reagan, then president of the Screen Actors Guild, could boost her career, Walters gave him her address and was surprised when he came calling at 3 A.M. "He pushed his way inside and said he just had to see me. He forced me on the couch . . . and said, 'Let's just get to know each other.' It was the most pitched battle I've ever had, and suddenly in a matter of seconds I lost. . . . They call it date rape today. . . ."

 

[LongTimeListener]

We have no choice but to believe that account in the absence of proof otherwise. It's the only smart way to handle it.

 

[H.L. Mencken]

He has to answer for it. Nancy too.

 

[Vombatus]

If Hillary had blown Bill regularly over the past 50 years, none of these bad things would have happened.

 

[JayFarrar]

They're both liars. Why you're missing that is why this has gone for 10 pages.

Yes, they both lied.

She didn't want to say Bill Clinton had raped her, and neither did he.

That's not unusual.

You're approaching performance art.

You're a believer though. Just interesting.

 

[jr/shotglass]

I'm honestly wondering here ... in American politics, was there anything before Gary Hart to go with the idea that philandering was a disqualifier for public office? I don't recall it, and certainly side action was a time-honored tradition here (and still is around the globe).

I'm just wondering: At what point did the media stop looking the other way? Because there is where you'd probably have your answer.

 

[Boom_70]

If Hillary had blown Bill regularly over the past 50 years, none of these bad things would have happened.

Really just an awful vision