The national obsession with the Case of the Stained Dress is prima facie evidence of a dangerously complacent and cynical society. With a smooth-functioning economy and apparent defeat of the major villains of the 20th Century (“Communism” being the last big one to fall), this society does not feel there are any major issues to worry about. Looming environmental problems, explosive issues of social and racial injustice, and danger signals in the international arena simply haven’t captured the imagination of this society.
At the same time, we have an expanding media, with talk radio stations proliferating (it’s hard to find music in the morning anymore, even on FM), and cable stations with news departments hungry for something to report on. Hillary Clinton’s “vast right wing conspiracy” is actually just a sleaze-hungry media looking for entertainment, from any “wing.” A few years ago, it was OJ. Now we have the President and the intern with the blue dress. (She saved the dress? Without cleaning it? Yuck! Oh, sorry. Now I’m doing it. . . )
When history looks back at the Clinton Presidency, he will get high marks for assuring our enjoyment of the fruits of the United States’ position in the world. He won the Presidency on the phrase “It’s the economy, stupid.” and he has never forgotten this. Before even taking office in 1992, he huddled with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to make sure none of his more idealistic initiatives would rock the financial boat. He has made sure that people who set interest rates and buy stocks are happy and confident. But he will receive low marks for failing to deliver on any of his more far-sighted, idealistic promises. And, history will mention his problems with a sex scandal at the White House. History might even recall Monica Lewinsky’s name, as the answer to trivia quizzes. But when historians speak of the scandal, the focus will also be on how American society became so captivated by it.
In fact, Bill Clinton may be the victim of his own Presidency. He has placed short-term prosperity ahead of an idealistic long-vision, creating comfort without inspiration, a sure route to cynicism. His Presidency has helped create this cynical, complacent America, looking for something to talk about. If the economy was in poor shape, or the world was in crisis, or if the public was debating a bold, controversial Presidential initiative, Americans would be less likely to wonder about what is on that famous blue dress. They would be focused on the issues of national leadership.
What else does this tell us about ourselves? Our attitude toward the Presidency has changed dramatically. If nothing else, this type of focus is humiliating and demeaning to the man we have elected to lead the most powerful country in the world. Can anyone imagine this type of inquiry directed against Franklin Roosevelt and Lucy Mercer, Dwight Eisenhower and Kay Summersby, or John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe? Can we imagine someone trying to analyze stained satin sheets resulting from a Kennedy-Monroe rendezvous? The lying Presidency of Lyndon Johnson, followed in order by the criminal Presidency of Richard Nixon, the bumbling Presidency of Gerald Ford, and the incompetent Presidency of Jimmy Carter, eroded the public respect for the office. And President Clinton’s dalliance with one of his interns makes him one of the most foolish recent office-holders for neglecting the risk of his actions, especially given his own past, and the current tone of this society.
So as the national soap opera plays out, America gets some light entertainment. The story line satisfies the tone of our times. We get to see that the leader of our country is no better than most of us, maybe even more flawed than many of us. In the meantime, as complacency and cynicism dominate, epitomized by our focus on this melodrama, we will have only ourselves to blame when neglected issues suddenly explode onto our priority list in the form of crisis and catastrophe.
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