Salon | Newsreal: The roots of the Clinton smear

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A Monica-free zone

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Men in black (robes)
By Bruce Shapiro
Looking for an anti-Clinton arch-conspirator? Try the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court
(02/04/98)
Subpoena me? Subpoena you!
By Jonathan Broder
Trying to turn the tables, the president's attorney gets legal on Kenneth Starr
(02/03/98)
Tonya's trials
By Jane Meredith Adams
How Tonya Harding went from skating champion to video poker addict
(02/02/98)
Application to Have Sex With the President
By Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau
(01/30/98)
Defending the right to pry
By Richard Rodriguez
Why the private life of public people matters
(01/29/98)
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__^The R^{oots of the Clinton smear}
Roots of the Clinton smear THE ORIGINS OF THE PRESIDENT'S CURRENT TROUBLES STRETCH BACK 8 YEARS, TO THE STINKING SWAMP WATER OF ARKANSAS POLITICS.
BY GENE LYONS
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Hillary Rodham Clinton says there's a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to destroy her husband and reverse the results of the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. Given no concrete evidence, most pundits have dismissed her accusations as a combination of White House spin and a steely eyed determination by the first lady to stand by her man, particularly if it means keeping him in the White House.
But those pundits don't know what Hillary Clinton has known. Had they been in Arkansas before the Clintons went to the White House, they might have been less inclined to laugh off her accusations as Oliver Stone-like ravings.
In fact, they might have conceded that while Clinton went a little far, she does have a point: that there were interconnections, originating in his home state, between the president's bitterest and most unscrupulous political enemies. That a loose cabal indeed has existed since at least the Arkansas gubernatorial race of 1990 to smear Bill Clinton with sexual innuendo and destroy his political career.
And if the members of the fourth estate were to truly look into their souls -- rather than the sham breast-beating we are currently witnessing -- they might have to acknowledge their own role in creating an image of a man that is almost wholly unsupported by the facts, but may contribute to his downfall.

N E X T+P A G E+| "I dare Hillary to bare her butt"
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PHOTOGRAPH: AP/WIDE WORLD

T A B L E+T A L K Can't afford to go to Nagano? Come into Salon's Olympic village -- it's free! D A I L Y+Q U O T E A Monica-free zone R E C E N T L Y Men in black (robes) By Bruce Shapiro Looking for an anti-Clinton arch-conspirator? Try the Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (02/04/98) Subpoena me? Subpoena you! By Jonathan Broder Trying to turn the tables, the president's attorney gets legal on Kenneth Starr (02/03/98) Tonya's trials By Jane Meredith Adams How Tonya Harding went from skating champion to video poker addict (02/02/98) Application to Have Sex With the President By Charlie Varon and Jim Rosenau (01/30/98) Defending the right to pry By Richard Rodriguez Why the private life of public people matters (01/29/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		__^The R^{oots of the Clinton smear} THE ORIGINS OF THE PRESIDENT'S CURRENT TROUBLES STRETCH BACK 8 YEARS, TO THE STINKING SWAMP WATER OF ARKANSAS POLITICS. BY GENE LYONS LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Hillary Rodham Clinton says there's a "vast right-wing conspiracy" to destroy her husband and reverse the results of the 1992 and 1996 presidential elections. Given no concrete evidence, most pundits have dismissed her accusations as a combination of White House spin and a steely eyed determination by the first lady to stand by her man, particularly if it means keeping him in the White House. But those pundits don't know what Hillary Clinton has known. Had they been in Arkansas before the Clintons went to the White House, they might have been less inclined to laugh off her accusations as Oliver Stone-like ravings. In fact, they might have conceded that while Clinton went a little far, she does have a point: that there were interconnections, originating in his home state, between the president's bitterest and most unscrupulous political enemies. That a loose cabal indeed has existed since at least the Arkansas gubernatorial race of 1990 to smear Bill Clinton with sexual innuendo and destroy his political career. And if the members of the fourth estate were to truly look into their souls -- rather than the sham breast-beating we are currently witnessing -- they might have to acknowledge their own role in creating an image of a man that is almost wholly unsupported by the facts, but may contribute to his downfall. N E X T+P A G E+\| "I dare Hillary to bare her butt" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - PHOTOGRAPH: AP/WIDE WORLD