The Clinton Dilemma

The Scenario: You have had an affair with a young and willing partner who was working under your authority, but well down the hierarchy. News of the affair has leaked out, and rumors about it are beginning dominate the public's attention. You would:

Confess the affair completely and contritely. You explain that you have become aware of a compulsion, a weakness in your character, that you have discussed this with your wife, and that you are not going to engage in this type of conduct again. You assure the public that you will seek outside counseling for your compulsion. You are committed telling the truth to the American people, and believe they will understand. You sincerely offer to resign if the people will not accept your behavior or explanation.

Confess your guilt to this one incident, hinting strongly that you were seduced. You offer to resign (without meaning it). You state that you have suggested your partner get counseling for what is obviously a sexual compulsion.

Redefine the term "affair" or "sexual relations" so that it excludes what you did with your young partner, and then deny it. Using intermediaries, you make sure your partner understands this new definition and therefore joins in your denial.

Deny everything using the same strategy described in Number 3. Then you orchestrate leaks about other partners you've been with in the past, quietly encouraging those former partners to pose nude in national magazines. . . after you've made an arrangement with their agents for a percentage of their earnings.

Claim the whole thing is a case of mistaken identity. You thought the partner was your spouse. Describe in detail the similarities between their features and particularly the precise physical characteristics of their anatomies.

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Copyright © 1998 by Richard Warren Field

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