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Originally Posted by AVoiceOfReason
I agreed with much of what you wrote, but this point caught my attention as something that should be addressed. Clinton's affair with Lewinsky was not just between him and his wife--it is that, but so much more is riding on it than that. Clinton was in a spot to be blackmailed, and would do anything to keep himself out of hot water. How do I know that? Go back to Gennifer Flowers getting a job in state goverment after becoming his girlfriend. Add to that what Paula Jones said about her getting work, and how Vernon Jordan was trying to get Lewinsky a job in New York. He also threw a bunch of supporters under the bus, including his own wife. He was a desparate man, and was taking desparate measures.
Now, suppose instead of talking to a patriot in Linda Tripp, Monica's buddy was in tight with the ChiComs or the Russians. Word gets to Clinton what they know and what they want to keep it secret. Then what?
I know, there's some supposition there, but it's only to illustrate the point that the private lives of the President (and many others in national security positions) is not merely a matter between him and his family and his God. A guy putting himself in the position to be bribed or blackmailed puts a lot more folks at risk. One red herring in the whole defense of Clinton was "it's a private sexual matter." The background was sex, but it could have been corruption of another sort, and the result would be the same. (Another, not germane to our discussion, but I just thought of it, was that a removal from office would be like undoing the election of 1996--it would do nothing of the sort, since Dole wouldn't be taking office, Gore would.)
Bottomline: Character DOES count, and America had better never forget it.
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I would rather have a president blackmailed by a scorned lover (and I seriously doubt the CIA and the government agencies would allow anyone with close ChiCom or "bad guys" to get too close without making sure she could be made to disappear real fast. There are far, far more ways to get a "spy" close to the president without going that far.
(Of course there are the rumors that Giancana "owned" Kennedy because of his dalliance's with Ms. Campbell, but it seems Hoover held it over the president's head far more than the mob.)
Now, Bush on the other hand, one has to wonder when we see who he appoints and how they have no or little experiences with the position. That to me makes me wonder why, and is far more dangerous to the country than an affair. I understand wanting to give friends positions but they should not be policy making and in positions that could hurt us, there are many qualified people out there and as president regardless of party you should seek the best person out for the job (Clinton did this and put his "friends" in positions that wouldn't hurt the nation if they fucked up) .... Brown in FEMA, Meier for SCJ, and so on.
And by the way, I am sure Clinton is by far not the only womanizing President from either party, he just happened to get caught when the GOP couldn't find anything else that would stick to him.