T A B L E++T A L K

Barbie: Is there any other toy that parents hate more? Weigh in on Mattel's bombshell and other evil toys in Mothers

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R E C E N T L Y

Dear Daughter: Go to jail. Love, Mom
By Lori Leibovich and Dawn MacKeen
Pro-family advocates would rather pass judgment on Monica Lewinsky's mom than on the government forcing her to testify against her child
(04/08/98)

The water lilies look splotchy up close
By Polly Shulman
The artist is the hero in these sensuous children's books
(04/07/98)

The fun police
By Diane Lore
Being your kid's killjoy isn't as fun as it's cracked up to be
(04/06/98)

Women beware women
By Katie Roiphe
Our ongoing national catfight has revealed an unpleasant truth: Women have always betrayed each other
(04/03/98)

Second Thoughts: Nice Guys
By Sallie Tisdale
In the wake of the Arkansas schoolyard killings, a mother ponders guns, children, and the adults who bring them together
(04/02/98)

ARCHIVES

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Mamafesto
By Camille Peri
Why it's time
for Mothers Who Think

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NOT WAITING TO INHALE | PAGE 2 OF 2

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The CDC study looked at 1991 to 1997 -- basically the Clinton years. Do you think the Clinton's administration is doing enough to counter teen smoking?

I think that we're seeing a new generation of young people that have not been educated. And I do not think that it's related to the Clinton years.

Do you think something will change in the future?

I think people will finally realize they we've got to do something. We can't afford to see children killing children, we can't afford to see children having children, we can't afford to see children involved with drugs -- and cigarettes to me is a drug -- or drinking. We can't jail ourselves out of this mess. We've got to start educating.

What do you think about the scandals dogging President Clinton?

I support the president and I feel that we've gotten all bent out of shape over this. I feel the president has been a good president. I don't think the other issues -- I don't think that his sex life is any of my business. I consider that Hillary's business and she takes care of it if she wants.

Do you think Clinton is a hypocrite? Are his conservative policies on sex -- which led to your dismissal -- contradicting with his own behavior?

We all have a certain amount of hypocrisy. He is doing what we elected him to do and that is to be a good president. Why should we get bent out of shape about things that really only involve the people involved?

Critics might say that the president may not be practicing what he is preaching. Here he had conservative policies on sex education, and then he's reportedly involved with Monica Lewinsky...

Some of his policies are maybe ones that the president felt he could get through the Congress and may not necessarily reflect exactly what he feels. I feel that the president is a very compassionate man who wants the best for all children.

So, you think it's OK for Clinton to have such a discrepancy in his personal and private life as long as he has a vision for the children?

I guess I don't even get concerned about his personal life. I want his vision to be clear and I think it is. I feel that he is trying to move this country forward as best as he knows how.

What do you think about the Paula Jones case being thrown out?

I think there were Clinton haters from Arkansas who were supplying junk to Washington. I am very pleased that the Paula Jones case was thrown out. I never felt she had very much of a case. If she really wanted to do something about it, she should have done something about it in 1991 or whenever it happened. And since she didn't do anything about it then, why is she bringing it up now? She is bringing it up because there are people pushing her and paying her bills, and they aren't concerned about Paula Jones -- they are using her as a tool to fight Bill Clinton.

Do you think there is "a vast right-wing conspiracy" as Hillary Clinton has suggested?

I think that the right wing has worked overtime and spent a lot of time and money doing anything they feel that they can do to attack Bill Clinton. They attacked me -- not because they cared about Joycelyn Elders -- but because I could be used as a tool to attack Bill Clinton.

How would you grade Clinton's performance as president?

I would give him a very high rating as president. I have been very impressed with him. I feel that he has done a lot for this country economically and is trying to move some social issues forward. We failed on health care, but I feel that the reasons we failed are multiple and were not all necessarily his.

So you are not upset anymore about your dismissal?

I didn't stay upset but two or three days. As far as I am concerned, in politics you have to do what you feel you need to do to move your agenda forward. And I was not what the president thought he needed at the time.

When you were in the White House, did you ever see anything that would indicate that he was sexually out of control?

I was never around the White House that much. I saw him at times, but it was always in big meetings or at social events.

So you never saw him chasing anyone at these crowded dinners?

No, I didn't see him pulling anyone into closets [laughs]. No one is that out of control. Let's get real.
SALON | April 9, 1998