Media coverage of Clinton scandal divides country
Rebecca Bogler
Issue date: 9/28/98 Section: Opinion
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As the media continues to choke us with images of the Clinton scandal, people are forming their own opinions about the presidency and about our society as a whole. Some people think the president should be impeached, and others think the president has a right to a personal life and that the affair does not affect his ability to run the country.
But the majority of the comments I've heard have little to do with the president's fate - rather, they've dealt with the situation as a whole. Either Americans are sick of the coverage and say they don't want to hear anything else about it, or they say there is justification for the media coverage and would like to see more of it.
I do think there are some people who truly don't care anymore, but I think the majority of the population is glued to the television and waiting on the Internet for the updates.
It all basically boils down to a matter of supply and demand. If Americans weren't crashing the 'Net the first day the Starr Report was released and weren't listening to Clinton's testimony last Monday, then maybe I wouldn't be so quick to accuse those persons who say they refuse to be part of the problem of being hypocrites.
I think many people are ashamed to admit that they do care about our president conducting himself in an inappropriate manner with an intern half his age. We do care if these encounters took place in the White House which is revered as the most powerful hub of the United States. And most importantly, we do care if he lied under oath and committed perjury, even though he is using his own dictionary of definitions as his defense.
I will be the first one to admit that I watched the Clinton tapes and I keep up on the latest headline news when I can, but I think it is my responsibility to do so.
Clinton himself said that he could have done much more over the past couple of years for the country had he not had this investigation to deal with. Hopefully over-killing this story will make the next unfaithful politician think twice before jeopardizing his political career.
In no way am I saying that this investigation should not have been conducted, but Clinton will go down in the history books as the president who was caught with his pants down, and this will overshadow any of the accomplishments of his presidency. Internationally, Clinton is getting either comfort for what his own governmental body did to him or he is getting scorned and laughed at.
Maybe this should be an eye-opening experience for everyone involved and next time the American people will think twice about electing a ruler who admitted during his first presidential race that he had certain indiscretions he and Hillary had worked through. We should think about this when elections for a new president roll around in two years.
But the majority of the comments I've heard have little to do with the president's fate - rather, they've dealt with the situation as a whole. Either Americans are sick of the coverage and say they don't want to hear anything else about it, or they say there is justification for the media coverage and would like to see more of it.
I do think there are some people who truly don't care anymore, but I think the majority of the population is glued to the television and waiting on the Internet for the updates.
It all basically boils down to a matter of supply and demand. If Americans weren't crashing the 'Net the first day the Starr Report was released and weren't listening to Clinton's testimony last Monday, then maybe I wouldn't be so quick to accuse those persons who say they refuse to be part of the problem of being hypocrites.
I think many people are ashamed to admit that they do care about our president conducting himself in an inappropriate manner with an intern half his age. We do care if these encounters took place in the White House which is revered as the most powerful hub of the United States. And most importantly, we do care if he lied under oath and committed perjury, even though he is using his own dictionary of definitions as his defense.
I will be the first one to admit that I watched the Clinton tapes and I keep up on the latest headline news when I can, but I think it is my responsibility to do so.
Clinton himself said that he could have done much more over the past couple of years for the country had he not had this investigation to deal with. Hopefully over-killing this story will make the next unfaithful politician think twice before jeopardizing his political career.
In no way am I saying that this investigation should not have been conducted, but Clinton will go down in the history books as the president who was caught with his pants down, and this will overshadow any of the accomplishments of his presidency. Internationally, Clinton is getting either comfort for what his own governmental body did to him or he is getting scorned and laughed at.
Maybe this should be an eye-opening experience for everyone involved and next time the American people will think twice about electing a ruler who admitted during his first presidential race that he had certain indiscretions he and Hillary had worked through. We should think about this when elections for a new president roll around in two years.