March 6, 2020

A ridiculous mix of masculinity and femininity, so absurd you're in no danger of believing or empathizing.

It's Bill Clinton, quoted in "Bill Clinton Explains Monica Lewinsky Affair as ‘Managing My Anxieties’/Mr. Clinton was asked about the scandal for the Hulu documentary series 'Hillary'" (NYT):
"You feel like you’re staggering around — you’ve been in a 15-round prizefight that was extended to 30 rounds, and here’s something that’ll take your mind off it for a while,” Mr. Clinton says. “Everybody’s life has pressures and disappointments and terrors, fears of whatever, things I did to manage my anxieties for years."
He pictures himself as a boxer going 20 rounds, then suddenly he's in Oprahesque confessional mode,  offering up bullshit bonbons of self-insight. Don't eat that. But it's good for a laugh.

But it's really not so funny. He says "something that’ll take your mind off it" and "things I did." But the thing was a human being — a woman. Even as he's trying to present himself as having reflected and gained perspective and wisdom, he's still speaking of Monica Lewinsky as an object, understood in terms of what she did for him. His new insight is only to diminish the use she had. He ought to have managed his anxieties better, but at the time he took advantage of her — you know, of the thing.

154 comments:

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

"I did not have sexual relations.... with that woman."

Tommy Duncan said...

What did Bill Clinton do to relax? He did Monica.

lgv said...

Shouldn't the followup question be, "and you couldn't get anxiety relief from your wife?"

rhhardin said...

They're treating each other equivalently. It's the hookup culture. Each side comes out ahead, until she changes her mind later. Then he loses and she comes out even more ahead.

Ignorance is Bliss said...

As loathsome as Clinton was/is, he didn't take advantage of her. She was an adult who knew full well what she was doing. He was not the first married man she had an affair with.

cacimbo said...

Amazing that decades later he has not come up with a better line.

rhhardin said...

When one partner in a marriage doesn't want sex, the other finds an intern. Everybody wins.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Can't we just move on?

gilbar said...

you know what's COOL?
Being an executive, and being able to USE your female assistant's bodies, as
something that’ll take your mind off it for a while

It's NOT WRONG, it's something that’ll take your mind off it for a while
And she'll let you, cause you're her boss, and she's a stupid little girl

See? It's COOL being the executive!!!

gilbar said...

As loathsome as Harvey Weinstein was/is, he didn't take advantage of her. She was an adult who knew full well what she was doing. He was not the first married man she had an affair with.

fify!

rhhardin said...

Body language is important. Crossed arms, thong snapping, etc. Learn what they mean to avoid trouble.

rhhardin said...

If Clinton had had a pile of Playboys he could have stayed out of trouble.

traditionalguy said...

Sweet Od Bill had to keep a hundred narrative lies going at once, like the juggler with dishes spinning on sticks on Ed Sullivan. That was stressful and all the while Crooked was stealing all the money she could get.

Monica volunteered. So he treated her like trash.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

he's still speaking of Monica Lewinsky as an object, understood in terms of what she did for him

Yes, that is shameful; viewing sexual partners as objects and caring about them only insofar as they provide for your own needs is selfish and should be condemned.

Isn't that, though, exactly what the woman we discussed yesterday (with the terminal cancer diagnosis about whom there is a podcast) did? She was horny and wanted to feel something/take her mind off of her medical condition/mortality so she fucked a bunch, using her sexual partners for that purpose.

It's gross when Pres. Clinton does it (and admits to it), so shouldn't we see it as equally gross when that woman does/did it (and is celebrated for that choice)?

rhhardin said...

Adeste infidelis.

David Begley said...

Hillary wouldn’t fuck him or he didn’t want to fuck her.

Hillary reportedly said, “I need to be fucked more than twice a year.”

rhhardin said...

It's a woman's job to make herself more interesting than her pussy.

rhhardin said...

A pussy gives you a leg up, is all.

Wince said...

Bill Clinton: somewhere between Tone Loc and tone deaf.

chuck said...

Bill Clinton hardest hit.

JAORE said...

Shouldn't the followup question be, "and you couldn't get anxiety relief from your wife?"

Wouldn't that be like fighting fire with fire?

Ken B said...

Oh cheap and sleazy, Althouse, this highlighting of “thing”. It is correct to refer to actions as things.

rehajm said...

Body language is important. Crossed arms, thong snapping, etc. Learn what they mean to avoid trouble.

Just want to acknowledge this one...

Michael K said...

Considering his alternative was Hillary, I can't blame him too much but Paula Jones was inexcusable. She did not volunteer.

rehajm said...

...and here they come, their political moves so old, so universally recognized, like a prize fighter, long past his prime, telegraphing every punch.

Kevin said...

Where was Nina Burleigh?

Rick said...

he's still speaking of Monica Lewinsky as an object, understood in terms of what she did for him.

Is that different from Monica using the powerful man to make herself seem important?

Bay Area Guy said...

After dinner and a movie a few glasses of wine, I'm hoping Bay Area Gal will manage a few of my anxieties tonight.....

stevew said...

Mistakes were made.

joshbraid said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
TrespassersW said...

I'm not going to dignify the show by watching, so I must ask: Did he actually express remorse for what he did, for the betrayal of his wedding vows, for lying to the American people, for anything? Or is he just sorry he got caught?

joshbraid said...

"But the thing was a human being — a woman. Even as he's trying to present himself as having reflected and gained perspective and wisdom, he's still speaking of Monica Lewinsky as an object, understood in terms of what she did for him."

He used her to relieve his anxiety. So what is wrong with that, really? If you think that is an easy question to answer consistently, then you are not living in contemporary society, hence the Weinstein examples.

Is it wrong to use people as objects? Why? And not a sentimental answer, please.

Tim said...

They are so full of shit it is hard to believe that anyone stills cares about them, or ever did.

Maillard Reactionary said...

traditionalguy @ 8:42 AM: Now you've given me Katchaturian's "Sword Dance" as today's earworm. Thanks, pal!

Howard said...

A lucky pussy might get a leg up to the Kids Table. Big whoop. Oh, the unfairness. A cock and balls gets you drinks with the bosses.

Temujin said...

Why do all of our fallen politicians, athletes, celebrities think they have to remake themselves for us? The Clintons remain among the most distasteful couple ever come onto the public screen. And they just don't seem to know when to leave.

They are the guests who stink up your house, but refuse to leave.

narciso said...

did the interviewers follow up, rhetorical question, I guess #metoo no longer matters,

Howard said...

Insert philosophical quote from the Dude=====> Here

Gospace said...

Not having had an affair, I can't speak from personal experience. But from observation of those I have known who have had them, it seems that having an affair increases anxiety levels. And stress levels. I mean, think about it- you have to lie, you have to keep the lies straight, and you have to truest the person you're cheating with doesn't blab about it.... And that's just the start.

Yeah, does anyone actually believe his BS?

zipity said...


Huh. It appears that Bill is a terrible human being.

Shocker, that.

ThunderChick said...

I agree with Ken B. - I didn't infer that Clinton was referring to Lewinsky as a "thing," but rather, his affair or sex with Lewinsky was the "thing" that he did to relieve his anxiety.

That being said, Clinton's excuse is the biggest bunch of BS I've ever heard. You are taking out your anxieties by having an extramarital affair? Spare me - there are other ways to relieve anxieties - exercise, massage, engaging in a hobby, like playing music, whatever. Billy boy is trying to deflect from the dog he was accurately characterized as when his unlikable spouse was running for President.

Some people, when in positions of power and who have sycophants around telling them how great they are wonderful they are, use that power for their own personal benefit because they think they are entitled to it. Clinton saw an opportunity with Lewinsky and took it. Lewinsky was an adult and willingly had sex with a married man. I had a liberal friend once tell me she felt sorry for Lewinsky. I vehemently disagreed - Lewinsky was no victim.

rcocean said...

Frankly, Monica, Bill, and Hillary all deserve each other. I'm more concerned about a US President lying under oath, and trying to destroy Paula Jones. Did Bill tell any funny stories about her?

Its amazing how the liberal/left always controls the narrative to protect those they like. The narrative is NOT Gov of Arkansas sexually harasses a powerless Government employee, gets sued, lies about it under oath, tries to get others to lie under oath, tries to destroy Linda Tripp and finally settles for $500,000. No, its all about Lewinsky, the cigar, and "Bill lied about Monica". Poor Monica.

I say, Poor paula jones and linda tripp.

Limited blogger said...

I feel your pain, Bill.

tim in vermont said...

She’s running.

Curious George said...

"JAORE said...
Shouldn't the followup question be, "and you couldn't get anxiety relief from your wife?"

Not if you knew Hillary. Which I presume they did.

narciso said...

he didn't take Jocelyn elders advice, wasn't that the lauer, moonves, rose solution

rcocean said...

I have zero sympathy for Monica. She strikes me as a sleeze - just like Bill. And don't Clinton had high approval ratings - and almost 90% support levels with Democrats - when he left office? In fact, the D's loved Clinton so much, they tried to get him back in Office in 2016, via Hillary ( 2 for the price of one). In the Rich Pardon didn't make a dent in their Clinton-Hillary Love.

Yet, "grab 'em by the pussy" - a harmless remark made in private was supposed to disqualify Trump. You wonder if people are stupid or they have the memories of a fruit fly.

Kevin said...

Lebowski: Bill Clinton treats objects like women, man.

Nonapod said...

If they were hoping that this silly Hulu Clinton hagiography would somehow revamp Bill's post #metoo image, I don't think it'll work. Everyone knows what happened and why it happened.

At this point I don't believe there's really an resuscitating the image the Clintons that was once held. Back in the 90s they were presented as the ultimate political power couple, rock stars, the coolest of the cool. Back thenpeople were willing to forgive Bill Clinton for lying about this little dalliance. Saddly the fact that Bill Clinton was a proven philanderer may have even elevated his coolness level in a lot of Democrats eyes.

But a lot has happened in the intervening years. And not just his associations with characters like Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein. The culture on the Left has changed. #Metoo has happened. On the left, the dynamics between powerful men and young women are viewed much differently in 2020 than they were in 1998.

Bay Area Guy said...

If Bill had simply let Hillary blow him a few more times, it would've managed HER anxieties a bit more, as wel as our nation as a whole.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Biden-Clinton

2 crooks for the price of one.

TJM said...

This is why Hildabeast won't be on anyone's ticket. The hypocrisy stench level is just too high, even for Althouse (but probably not Inga who would vote for Stalin or Hitler if they had a D after their name)

Mark said...

He's staggering around — he's been in a 15-round prizefight that was extended to 30 rounds. And yet he fights and fights to get re-elected.

If the job was that harmful, you could have always gone and done something else.

TJM said...

Inga,

Any deep thoughts? And please focus on Horndog Clintoon

Rory said...

I've always thought that at some point in the Paula Jones proceeding, it became clear that discovery in the case became a real risk, and Bill's inner circle shut down any support in getting women to him, so that Monica was what he came up with on his own.

Mark said...

What we have seen over the years is how those on the right feel sympathy and outrage for Monica Lewinsky as a victim who was taken advantage of. Those on the left take the view that she was part of the problem for having asked for it - the trailer park sluts response of Hillary and Carville.

Leland said...

I've never defended the guy, and I'm glad I don't have to now. Except both Hillary and Monica have defended Bill, so I guess it was all very consensual. Why should I care if they are a throuple? Did he push a rule that said officials, such as himself, shouldn't screw the help?

doctrev said...

Monica Lewinsky was very much in love with Bill Clinton- I believe she still is- and he shamelessly exploited that. "She's an adult" is a rallying cry for pimps exploiting women with drugs and beatings as much as for the scum of Washington, and probably for the same reason. But it's hard to feel particular sympathy for her when she hasn't faced up to the scale of his betrayal for twenty years.

I almost hope this latest attempt at Clinton hagiography succeeds. If it does, Hillary will knock Joe Biden off overnight. Then what larks!

wendybar said...

He used her as a cigar holder in the Oval Office, and his wife went around calling it a Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, at the same time calling the girls Bimbo Eruptions. Oh, for the good old days when their was decorum in the White House.

Fernandinande said...

Did he push a rule that said officials, such as himself, shouldn't screw the help?

Yes. He had then recently signed a new feminist law about patterns of naughty behavior; that law was used to question him about his patterns of naughty behavior.

wendybar said...

rcocean said...


I say, Poor paula jones and linda tripp.
3/6/20, 9:18 AM

and Kathleen Willey too!!

RAS743 said...

Ridiculous? The readers don’t think so. They’re dyed-in-the-wool Democrats.

Otto said...

The saga of a sex pervert and whore continues. Nothing more nothing less.

William said...

He'll come in for some criticism in precincts like these, but, in the larger world, his arrant bullshit will pass unremarked. He's not defensible, but let's all just pretend that the caravan has moved on and the people who still object to Bill Clinton are the barking dogs. Has any well known feminist attacked the predations and rationalizations of Bill Clinton? Have any but a very few of the women he climbed on come forward with their sad tales?

rcocean said...

The sympathy for Lewinsky is absurd. She was a grown woman. She kept the blue dress with his man juice on it. How's that for weird? She tried to get Tripp to commit perjury for Bill.

She's a sleeze.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

what Hillary Clinton Weinstein did to Bill's victims is worse. Hillary is the Meryl Streep of pols.

etbass said...

Our host deserves a lot of credit in that she consistently criticized Bill Clinton while he was being covered by her fellow feminists during that whole sorry episode.

tim in vermont said...

"I've never defended the guy, and I'm glad I don't have to now. “

Nobody did. These last three decades have been an illusion. It’s all fake news pushed by Russia that the Democrats sold out their values for Bill.

"Why should I care if they are a throuple?” Oh look who’s defending the rapist now!

Yancey Ward said...

Lewinsky was 21 years old. Old enough to drink and old enough to get abortions without anyone's approval. Taken advantage of? No.

Otto said...

@roocean
Notice how many of Ann's favorites are weird.

tim in vermont said...

Repeatedly minimizing what the guy did is “defending him” for you guys who don’t know.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

No one ever claimed that Monica was raped or did anything against her wishes or will. She wanted to be there. Sex with the president? hot stuff, man.
The larger question remains eternal.

Clinton was given the "attaboy" treatment.

Imagine if Trump had sex with a young intern in the oval office. Just. Imagine.

Paul Snively said...

You're not wrong.

But Monica Lewinsky was an adult. Who had had a previous affair with a married teacher that ended with an abortion.

I'm all in favor of forgiveness and focusing on Ms. Lewinsky's genuine post-Clinton accomplishments. But I find it literally impossible to stay in that mode when anyone depicts this humam being, with full moral agency, as a victim.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Some of Bill's other victims - are a different story. But that story will not be told in the hack press.

No one in the hack press is interested in Paula Jones or Kathleen Wiley or Juanita Broderick.

There will be no Special Netflix series.

tim maguire said...

Did he, at any point, express regret for what the scandal did to her?

Ignorance is Bliss said...She was an adult who knew full well what she was doing.

That's nuts. She may have come on to him, but there's no way she understood the ramifications of what she was getting in to.

Fernandinande said...

[Clintoon] signed a new feminist law

This one, IIRC (pg 23):

"First, a recently enacted partial exception to the propensity rule allows in evidence of other sexual assaults, to show that the defendant may have committed the assault at issue.70
...
70. See Fed. R_ Evid. 415(a). This Rule was enacted as part of the Violence Against Women Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2261-2266 (1994)."

William said...

Monica was flaky and manipulative, but, when you apportion blame, shouldn't the President of the United States be held to a higher standard of judgment and discretion than a flaky intern? I have read of drummers in second tier rock bands who were better behaved in the presence of addled fans.

Ralph L said...

Bill's inner circle shut down any support in getting women to him

You've forgotten Eleanor Mondale. There were bound to be others, too.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

Hey, some guys pop a Valium when they feel anxious, others go to the gym and still others get BJs from interns.

Who are we to judge?

n.n said...

They may be, and are, both morally ("ethically") dysfunctional. #NoJudgment #NoLabels

Clinton is Pro-Choice, and enjoys feminine female friends with benefits.

Lewinsky was an adult. Who had had a previous affair with a married teacher that ended with an abortion.

Ah, benefits and rites. She attends the same "Church".

The issue is what behaviors and choices does society believe should be normalized, tolerated, and rejected. A lot happens under a layer of privacy, which can be tolerated, but should not be normalized.

Nichevo said...


rcocean said...
The sympathy for Lewinsky is absurd. She was a grown woman. She kept the blue dress with his man juice on it. How's that for weird? She tried to get Tripp to commit perjury for Bill.

She's a sleeze.

3/6/20, 9:55 AM


Not defending her, so much as pointing out that without that evidence, she'd have been found in Fort Marcy Park, in the trunk of a car, victim of accidental suicide during a botched robbery.

Ralph L said...

I didn't read the Starr Report, but one thing was ignored in his testimony and TV commentary. According to Monica, Clinton lied that the "affair" began after she got a paid job, which made the lie germane to Paula Jones' suit (job for sex) and thus perjury. I don't think he had so many BJs that he would be off by months by mistake. He wasn't JFK.

Roughcoat said...

Consenting adults. Either women are empowered or they aren't; have agency or they don't. Which is it?

I don't care anymore.

FullMoon said...

Like I said before, if Hillary would have sucked his dick every day there would have been no problem.

Obviously, she did not want to put in the work..
After reading Starr report a couple of years ago, I was under the impression that Monica actually believed her and Bill had a future.

Gusty Winds said...

He did take advantage of her, but Democrats and liberals didn't care. Abortion rights trump all other values. It's when I fully realized how full of shit feminists were. They were more disgusted with Monica than Bill.

Mark said...

Just because someone participates in her own exploitation doesn't mean that she isn't exploited and used and abused.

The response to someone engaging in self-destructive behavior is not to feed into it, but to deter it. Further, the response of others is not to say, "screw her, she asked for it," but to rightly see her as a victim in all of this.

Gusty Winds said...

Let's be real here about the probabilities of the Clinton marriage. It's an open sexual marriage. A business arrangement. Hillary is either asexual or she's a lesbian. And she certainly wasn't going to relieve Mr. President the way Monica did.

She didn't care about Bill and Monica, or Bill and any of the other women. She was just pissed he got caught, and they had to absorb the political damage.

RobinGoodfellow said...

What a disgusting pig. He preyed upon this young woman, pretty much ruined her life, and he still can’t own up to it.

FullMoon said...

Pleasuring Bill did not make Monica a victim. The attacks and lies by the Clintons and their gang made her a victim. If either one gave thought to repercussions of being caught, they probably figured worst case scenario is Hillary finds out and gets pissed off. Bill probably been through it before.
Neither expected national news. Newsweek sat on story, Drudge didn't.

Twenty years ago, the Drudge Report broke the Clinton ...

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Blogger lgv said...
Shouldn't the followup question be, ‘and you couldn't get anxiety relief from your wife?’ “

Ew! Let’s not get nuts here!

Gusty Winds said...

Harvey Weinstein is in prison for "without consent, performing cunnilingus". A sexual crime.

But 20 years ago Bill Clinton taught the nation that oral sex wasn't actually sex. Go figure.



Big Mike said...

But the thing was a human being — a woman.

Not to Bill. Women flatter themselves that they matter to a man they are having sex with. Professionals (i.e., prostitutes) know better. Not when it's only sex.

gahrie said...

If Bill Clinton could, and did, run for president again, Democratic women would still vote for him.

Calypso Facto said...

"shouldn't the President of the United States be held to a higher standard of judgment"

Or even just the same standard as any employer? Whether you consider Monica a victim or not, a young, female employee being convinced/coerced into sex by her boss is almost always grounds for a successful sexual harassment suit.

Laslo Spatula said...

When a boxer goes thirty rounds he probably takes a lot of blows.

I am Laslo.

Bay Area Guy said...

Everyone needs to find a way to manage their anxieties, even Presidents. The difference is, he has his finger on the nuclear bomb switch, and we don't.

Solution: A new cabinet level position -- "The Presidential Cocksucker." Of course, must be subject to Senate confirmation.

Think about it -- no more grand juries, laws suits, impeachments, independent counsels, perjury traps, Ken Starr, salacious headlines, endless cable tv talk shows for months. We would save millions, and not have to endure all that misery and drama.

Win win!

gahrie said...

Hillary is either asexual or she's a lesbian.

Nope. She had a child with Web Hubbell. So she was sexual, and is at least bi.

gahrie said...

Solution: A new cabinet level position -- "The Presidential Cocksucker." Of course, must be subject to Senate confirmation.

Court courtesan would be more traditional.

ThunderChick said...

. "She's an adult" is a rallying cry for pimps exploiting women with drugs and beatings as much as for the scum of Washington, and probably for the same reason.

WTF? Comparing Monica Lewinsky's involvement with Clinton to pimps exploiting women with drugs and beatings is comparing apples to oranges. She was a college educated adult, from an affluent family, who previously had an affair with a married man. She knew exactly what she was doing with Clinton.

Modern Stoic said...

He’s basically saying that Monica was like Xanax to him. Talk about treating a person like a means to an end rather than a human being. No signs of moral character here.

narciso said...

Wasnt that the press's role during thr clinton and obama administration?

gahrie said...

She was a college educated adult, from an affluent family, who previously had an affair with a married man. She knew exactly what she was doing with Clinton.

No woman must be made to feel bad about, or responsible for, anything, ever.

Sebastian said...

As a Kantian (sorry, YoungHegelian), I think Billy Jeff is a POS.

Left Bank of the Charles said...

He’s using the plural because it wasn’t just Monica.

Rick said...

etbass said...
Our host deserves a lot of credit in that she consistently criticized Bill Clinton while he was being covered by her fellow feminists during that whole sorry episode.


Althouse's greatest contribution is that she wants Dems to be what they hold themselves out to be and works to make them so. The problem is Dems aren't what they hold themselves out to be, never were what they hold themselves out to be, and consequently will never be what they hold themselves out to be.

Dems are the Tammany Party, patronage for votes.

Ice Nine said...

Two somewhat flawed adults wanted to screw each other...and so, did. There's your story. There's the sum total of your story.

Ray - SoCal said...

One of the greatest moments in US Politics - Trump inviting Bill's victims to a debate.

The look on Bill's face...

h said...

As the Clinton administration was wrapping up and pundits began to explore his "legacy", one pundit said something like, "In 100 years he'll be remembered as the President between the two Bushes". At the time I thought how much that assessment would hurt BJC. It also got me thinking that Presidents are almost never remembered for more than one or two things in the popular mind: Washington first President, Lincoln freed the slaves was assassinated, FDR New Deal, WWII. My guess is Lewinsky will be Clinton's single line (and not "President between the two Bushes." I have always seen the promotion of HRC toward the Presidency was Bill's last gasp hope to re-write that single line. And now he sees that HRC will never be President, he's trying to at least blur that line around the edges.

Ann Althouse said...

"But 20 years ago Bill Clinton taught the nation that oral sex wasn't actually sex."

He said it wasn't "sexual relations." Think of Eddie Murphy as Granny in "The Nutty Professor": "Now Carla, are you and Sherman having relations?... There's nothing wrong with having relations!! Sometimes, I even relation myself."

Achilles said...

gahrie said...
Hillary is either asexual or she's a lesbian.

Nope. She had a child with Web Hubbell. So she was sexual, and is at least bi.

No man.

Look at Bill and Chelsea and Webb side by side. by side...

The lines and features are all there. Particularly the nose and eye ridge. That nose is 100% Bill. Looks nothing like webb.

She got Hillary's head shape and mouth.

I still can't find a single feature of Chelsea's that actually matches webb hubbell.

Martin said...

As if what he did with/to Lewinski wasn't something he had done scores of times, before and after, over a period of decades.

Achilles said...

20 years ago Bill taught us a rapist and a predator is a rapist and a predator.

Some sheep go willingly to the wolf is all.

Ann Althouse said...

Here's the memorable Eddie Murphy performance.

Achilles said...

Modern Stoic said...
He’s basically saying that Monica was like Xanax to him. Talk about treating a person like a means to an end rather than a human being. No signs of moral character here.

He is trying to pass off his relationship with Monica as the worst thing he did.

He is a rapist and clearly an amoral predator with a high empathy sense.

His ability to understand the feelings of others helped him choose victims. That is how he managed to stay out of jail by choosing women who wouldn't push the issue.

Predators like Bill have an innate daddy issues radar.

Rick said...

Ice Nine said...
Two somewhat flawed adults wanted to screw each other...and so, did. There's your story. There's the sum total of your story.


Untrue. The victims in the story are those who couldn't advance professionally because sex was part of becoming noticed in Clinton's White House. It's important to note though that those victims (including the person who otherwise would have been hired for the Pentagon job Bill got Monica) were victimized by both Bill and Monica. Monica's not the victim, the person who ended up a barista was.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Ray SoCal,

One of the greatest moments in US Politics - Trump inviting Bill's victims to a debate.

The look on Bill's face..


I totally agree with this. No other Republican would have done this. It showed that Trump fought harder and fought to win, not simply lose honorably.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

REcall all those masses of upset pussy hat females who took to the streets protesting Bill's sexual deviancy in the oval office?

yeah - no.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Eddie Murphy is so funny.

bagoh20 said...

"He says "something that’ll take your mind off it" and "things I did." But the thing was a human being — a woman."

Well, he is a man. The thing being a "human being - a woman" is a woman's way of seeing it. To a man the "thing" was the sex. Imagine if he masturbated to pictures of her. Would the thing he needed be a human being? Sex for men is pornography with living pictures.

tim in vermont said...

Supposedly he had a busty blonde firecracker that the Secret Service called the Energizer Bunny, and if he had kept it to that, I don’t think anybody would have cared.

tim in vermont said...

‘Cept maybe poor neglected Hillary, who had to take her pain out on the country.

Bay Area Guy said...

Trump says "grab 'em by the pussy" in a 10-year old video: Liberal women outraged.

Clinton inserts cigar in the pussy while in the oval office. Liberal women not outraged, because he's pro-choice.

Liberal women = crazy women.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The human sexuality discussion does not work for me in the application of a US president.
We all have urges, hormones, needs, wants, urges, desires, stress, urges, anxiety and on and on ... in the world of human sexuality.
That topic is separate to me.

You're freaking President of the United States. Pull it together. Contain yourself.
Bill had a history ... and he always managed to get away with it. Why? Because D.

I'd like to see an in-depth Netflix series on Paula Jones and what happened to her. Finally get to the truth.

Instead we get masses of insane pussy hat hate outbursts from people named Madonna who give blow-jobs to bottles and showcase and flaunt their sexuality to the hilt, melting down over Trump's words on tape - words on obscure tape for that matter, that happened long outside of any political endeavor. He wasn't governor.

exiledonmainstreet, green-eyed devil said...

It's when I fully realized how full of shit feminists were. They were more disgusted with Monica than Bill.

3/6/20, 10:35 AM

Compare and contrast with the vapors they got over Clarence Thomas and the supposed pubic hair on the Coke can comment.

Yep. It's all about the Holy Sacrament of Abortion.

AllenS said...

Most people probably would understand if BJ Clinton could just tell the truth: "I had a choice, Monica or Hillary, and who in the fuck would choose Hillary."

Unknown said...

Althouse at her best.

She could use a little more Bill Clinton around. Get this blog's traffic to the top of the charts.

Rick said...

Bay Area Guy said...Trump says "grab 'em by the pussy"

You're making a mistake truncating the quote from "they let you grab them by the pussy". Critics try to portray this as sexual assault but "they let you" indicates consent.

Bay Area Guy said...

Feminists are dishonest about 98% of what they say and do. They do not support "women." They support liberal policies, under the pretext of supporting women.

Here's a test: If and when a SCOTUS seat opens up, let's say Judge Amy Coney Barrett gets nominated for it. She's both a mother and working professional woman, who made it big, and probably hates sexism and discrimination of any kind. Yet, she will get hammered by Feminists, because of her viewpoints.

Bay Area Guy said...

@Rick,

Yup, you're right. Was just taking a short cut. Althouse explicated this beautifully way back when it mattered.

h said...

@Rick. is correct. Right thinking people used to make this point by saying "power is an aphrodisiac." When Trump says the same thing in slightly clearer language, it becomes a cudgel with which to beat him up.

Gusty Winds said...

I remember and episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm where Larry goes to and Asian massage parlor, and get freaked out when the masseuse tries to give him a happy ending.

Best line in the show...Larry's telling his agent Jeff Garlin about the incident and his agent says, "Who turns down a hand job?"

Bill Clinton might have received a little more sympathy with a more truthful explanation.

robother said...

The lonely lives of Presidents. At least he didn't talk to the portraits.

tim in vermont said...

"She could use a little more Bill Clinton around. Get this blog's traffic to the top of the charts.”

This is Hillary trying to clear the air to run again. Not Althouse’s fault that you guys picked that feckless cunt to run on your ticket.

Gusty Winds said...

Let's not forget JFK deflowered Mimi Alfred at 19-years-old in Jackie's powder blue bedroom. Clinton was a rookie.

GRW3 said...

Unless you can promise your wife a Senate seat, a term as Sec of State and a chance at being President, don't try this excuse at home.

madAsHell said...

"without consent, performing cunnilingus".

You're eating her pussy, and she goes home with regrets!?!

Dude!! How do you mess that up??

madAsHell said...

Cunnilingus sans Consent......would be a great name for a rock band!!

YoungHegelian said...

Solution: A new cabinet level position -- "The Presidential Cocksucker." Of course, must be subject to Senate confirmation.

No surprise, but the French Court has been there and done that centuries ago. Ladies & gents, je vous donne --- La Maitresse-En-Titre, AKA the Titular Mistress.

The interview process musta been something!

tim in vermont said...

"Dude!! How do you mess that up??”

HPV, Herpes, lots of ways.

Scott Cason said...

Everyone knew he was banging her. I don't know anyone who believed him when he had the press conference and wagged that long, bony finger in our faces and said he wasn't.

Big Mike said...

Or is he just sorry he got caught?

@Roy Jacobsen, what do you think?

Big Mike said...

One of the things I’ve always hated about the Clintons is their public whining. It was bad during his presidency, but what’s worse is that it has never completely stopped. The two of them, Bill snd his harridan of a eife, are practically walking, talking tear ducts.

Gusty Winds said...

Lincoln's top hat. Washington's wooden teeth. FDR's cigarette extension. Reagan's jar of Jelly Beans. Eisenhower's putter. Those could all be player pieces on a Presidential Monopoly board.

And for Clinton it's...The Blue Dress....

Lucien said...

Cigars and stained dresses are just the diversion — whenever Clintons have you thinking Monica, and not Juanita Broadderick they’re winning. It’s the forcible rape, not the intern diddling, that reveals the most. (When people called him the first black president, were they perpetuating the hateful stereotype of the sexually rapacious black man.)

tim in vermont said...

Is it true that Lincoln wore that hat because it was the only one he could find that he was able jack off into?

Sebastian said...

As we contemplate Billy Jeff's post-hoc "explanation," it does seem remarkable, doesn't it, that he might think it puts him in a better light, and that Dems might buy his line. The fact that he can plausibly think that indicates his and their essential immorality.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Achilles @11:19 AM-- Not arguing with you, but are you looking at a picture of Chelsea before she had all that "work" done, or afterward?

Big Mike said...

... Bill and his harridan of a wife ...

(Someday I will learn how to proofread my own writing. But not today.)

Bay Area Guy said...

@MadasHell,

You're eating her pussy, and she goes home with regrets!?!

Dude!! How do you mess that up??


My God, had President Slick Willie paid a little more intimate attention to his wife of nearly 50 years, we coulda avoided the entire Ken Star impeachment and her unending power-mad quest for the Presidency!

BUMBLE BEE said...

Hill was the one who wanted to be president, Bill was chasing his dick around the country.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Every time Hill resurfaces I'm haunted by the thought of her and Web Hubbell. Monica, she was Bill's right hand. The damage that crowd did to this country is unforgivable.

Gk1 said...

Ugh. When will these awful people go away? It's just like the "You like the juice, eh? The juice is good, eh?" sketch from SNL that plagued us for what seemed decades. How can we miss you if you won't go away?

Bunkypotatohead said...

Yet the perfessor voted for his wife/enabler.
BJ was The Dude in The Big Lewinsky.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

It's true Bill Clinton saw her as a thing.

He sees men as as things also. We're all just things to him.

I hope he has actual affection and concern for his daughter. I don't see that there's anyone else who could possibly make the grade for him.