Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sunday, February 28, 1999 Meredith Oakley
Every one of us has secrets, some thing or things we'd rather not be confronted with on the evening news
or in the morning newspaper. For some of us, a lifetime isn't too long to keep them to ourselves, so what's
two decades?
And yet some folks want to dismiss out of hand the 21-year-old secret claimed by Juanita Broaddrick,
until recently known only to those who follow these things as Jane Doe No. 5, simply because she chose
not to publicize it until now. That's their position and they're sticking to it.
I don't buy it. Maybe it's a woman thing, but I cannot dismiss Broaddrick's claim that she was sexually
assaulted by an ambitious young politician in a hotel room in the spring of 1978 just because she waited so
long to tell us about it.
Furthermore, I don't think the naysayers would do that either if the alleged perpetrator were anyone but
Bill Clinton, then attorney general, soon to be governor and later, much later, president of the United
States.
Odd that they can accept and forgive every other sexual antic of which he's been accused, some of which
he's been forced to admit, albeit after the longest time and with the greatest reluctance, but reject the most
chilling allegation of them all without so much as a moment's consideration of possibilities.
No, what we get from true-believing Clintonites is resolute disbelief coupled with snide remarks about
Broaddrick's credibility and motivation. They conveniently forget how Clinton tried to excuse his previous
lies, some repeated over many, many years, about past affairs by saying he lied because he didn't want to
hurt his family and friends.
Is not a public refusal to admit the truth over the course of many years--I'm thinking primarily of his
dalliance with Gennifer Flowers--very much like refusing to volunteer the truth over the course of many
years?
Sorry, gang, but that old double standard doesn't work as well as it used to.
I'd be the first to concede that this story has no legs had others not beat me to it. Indeed, when asked by
an MSNBC producer for my reaction to the Broaddrick story, I replied along the lines of "What's the
relevance? What does it matter? Where does it go from here?"
Later, a friend of many years made a similar inquiry. How did I feel about Broaddrick's story? Was I
surprised (that such a vicious act could be alleged)? Was I embarrassed (for the president, for my state)?
Did I feel betrayed? (Fat chance. I didn't vote for the guy.)
During the first few days after the story hit the mainstream press last week, I felt nothing save perhaps
resignation. I wasn't particularly surprised that it had come to this, and I wasn't particularly upset by any
facet of the story or its potential ramifications.
Not until I saw Broaddrick's interview with NBC's Lisa Myers for the third time did I feel anything at all,
and I cannot begin to tell you how distressed I became. Suddenly, I saw her tears and listened to her
pained voice, and I was overcome by emotions too numerous and too sudden to count.
I've held and tried to comfort a weeping friend whose pain and anger and grief and humiliation and fear
and countless other emotions swirled long after the blood from a sexual assault had been washed away.
That was almost 30 years ago. To my knowledge, she has not spoken of it since. Maybe she's even
forgotten. I believe that's possible. We do what we must to get on with life. But I haven't forgotten.
I could cite a couple of other examples, but that's betrayal enough in the name of making a point, which is
this: Don't tell me that what my friend told me and what I saw lack credibility because the event happened
so long ago, there was no police report and it was never again mentioned until this day.
To borrow from NOW's Pat Ireland before she does another about-face, I genuinely believe Broaddrick
didn't want to come forward, and I understand why she wouldn't, 21 years ago, 10 years ago, one year
ago, want to bring this story forward, why she would deny it and even lie about it until others had taken
control of the story and started spinning it every which a way.
That's perfectly understandable. The harder task is going to be coming to terms with how I feel now that I
have accepted that she very well may be telling the truth.
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