Since you have a Clinton/Arnold discussion going, I thought I might as well add fuel to the fire. :>) Andrew Sullivan.
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BILL AND ARNOLD: What's the difference, some ask? Item one: Clinton was faced with actual civil lawsuits, claiming sexual harrassment. Once private life gets dragged into the courts, the press has no option but to cover it. Item two: most of Clinton's sexual targets were women who worked for him or were under his direct authority. Some of Arnold's targets were on movie sets where he certainly had social power but where he was, as far as I know, not the owner or direct boss. Item three: none of Arnold's incidents involve actual sex, or exposure of sex organs, or alleged rape, whereas Clinton's did. Item four: Arnold has fessed up. Clinton lied under oath. Item five: Arnold hasn't exactly gone around saying he is a champion of women's rights and the dignity of women. Clinton did. Item six: all of Arnold's incidents were one-off. Clinton, for the most part, pursued the same women over time. That said, they're not entirely different. If Clinton hadn't had to deal with a lawsuit or two, I'd have had a very similar response. In fact, in the early days, I refused to cover the Gennifer Flowers stuff at the New Republic for exactly those reasons. But when the lawsuits occurred and the full extent of Clinton's abuse of public office for sexual harrassment purposes became clear, I think the situation changed. Clinton used state troopers and federal buildings to abuse and manipulate women. So far, Arnold has been a private citizen. Moreover, after the early Sixty Minutes interview where Clinton telegraphed that all this was over, I was more than happy to let this stuff pass (remember I endorsed Clinton in 1992). But it was when it was apparent that he had lied in that interview and continued his lies and sexual abuse in office that I realized we had a sociopath in the White House. So here's a promise: if Arnold gets elected and any of these incidents recur, I'll hammer him. Until then, his honesty, apology and promise get him a pass from me. May the Eagle win.
andrewsullivan.com |
