Caveat lector

Our current howler: Getting to yes-he-did

Synopsis: Margaret Talbot has found some creative new ways to prove you can trust those accusers.

School of scandal
Margaret Talbot, The New Republic, 10/12/98

Why Clinton Lied
George L. Priest, The Wall Street Journal, 9/14/98

In The New Republic, Margaret Talbot was slapping around hypocritical feminists for their reactions to the Lewinsky affair:

TALBOT: Time and again, prominent feminists have declined to condemn Clinton or have said explicitly that his pro-choice policies or his appointments of women to Cabinet positions matter far more than his regrettable tendency to drop trou and demand oral sex from women both willing and unwilling. “We’re trying to think of the big picture, think about what’s best for women,” Eleanor Smeal, the president of the Feminist Majority Foundation, told Vanity Fair’s Marjorie Williams in May. (Our emphasis)

Before we get to our main point, let’s comment on Talbot’s slick treatment of Smeal. Smeal’s Vanity Fair quote comes with no context at all, so it is in no way clear, as Talbot implies, that Smeal was agreeing that Clinton tends to “drop trou and demand oral sex from [unwilling] women.” Many of the feminists quoted in Williams’ article explicitly said they couldn’t yet judge the truth of the various allegations against Clinton. Clearly, Talbot is willing to proceed to judgment without knowing if accusations are true or false; but others shouldn’t be branded as hypocrites if they are reluctant to follow.

But what about Talbot’s central assertion--her assertion that President Clinton has a “regrettable tendency to drop trou and demand oral sex from women both willing and unwilling?” When Talbot’s article appeared in late September, the president had acknowledged the basic facts of his conduct with Monica Lewinsky. But how did Talbot know that Clinton “demands oral sex” from unwilling partners also? Hang on, folks, the fun starts here. Talbot recounts why some feminist leaders have said they are not more troubled with Clinton:

TALBOT: On the plausible end is the observation that what Clinton did to Lewinsky (or rather, what he invited her to do to him) is not harassment for the simple reason that it was clearly consensual...

Talbot’s honesty problem continues. In her parenthetical self-correction, she makes clear that she understands that Clinton’s conduct with Lewinsky was mutually consensual. Why then does she pen her first construction, which she quickly amends? She does it, of course, to paint an ugly picture of Clinton, one which she then slickly “corrects.” This is the sort of thing we see, remember, from earnest people like Margaret Talbot, who are just so fed up, appalled, and disgusted with how slick and dishonest Clinton is!

Slippery image-mongering accomplished, Talbot’s presentation proceeds:

TALBOT: On the plausible end is the observation that what Clinton did to Lewinsky (or rather, what he invited her to do to him) is not harassment for the simple reason that it was clearly consensual...But that, of course, leaves out Paula Jones, whose account of what happened in the Excelsior Hotel now seems entirely believable given what we know of Clinton’s m.o. (Our emphasis)

Of course--given Clinton’s “m.o.!” In other words: because we now know that Clinton engaged in consensual sex, we know he exposed himself to Jones! What could be more obvious? And there’s more from Talbot’s trendy catalog of groaning, egregious howlers:

TALBOT: ...And then there’s Kathleen Willey, whose allegations of unwanted groping the White House has tried, with only limited success, to discredit.

Can’t you see the unassailable logic here? Because the White House hasn’t been able to prove the unprovable--that Clinton didn’t grope Kathleen Willey--we get to throw her name in here also, and pretend we know what happened to her!

Here at THE HOWLER, we don’t claim to know what may or may not have happened between Clinton and Willey. We don’t claim to know what did or didn’t happen between Clinton and Paula Jones. But we have read the Starr Report’s detailed description of the interactions between Clinton and Lewinsky; and what Clinton did there is plainly not the same conduct that Willey and Jones have alleged. Lewinsky’s active solicitation of President Clinton is clearly spelled out in the Starr Report; to state the obvious, Starr makes no allegation of the assaultive behavior that Jones and Willey allege. Talbot wants to pretend to be able to say that Jones and Willey are telling the truth, so she invents silly stories about Clinton’s “m.o.” (slickly borrowing language used about criminals). It’s the kind of slick, slippery “proof” that a writer will use--when a writer just those accusers.

Quick review: Ken Starr describes a young woman (Lewinsky) displaying her drawers for President Clinton. (Who is “dropping trou” here, by the way?) Kathleen Willey and Paula Jones describe Clinton engaging in conduct that essentially is sexual assault. Unless we say that men who engage in consensual sex are thereby presumed to be sexual predators, it would seem the behaviors are rather different. What “m.o.” does Talbot mean? But when you’re living in this celebrity press corps, and trying to prove that accusers are truthful, it can all end up seemin’ the same. Consensual sex, sexual assault--what the heck, the pattern’s there somewhere! Indeed, George L. Priest, in the Wall Street Journal, improves upon even Talbot’s work:

PRIEST: Though it has not been emphasized, Ms. Jones’ and Monica Lewinsky’s experiences with Mr. Clinton are nearly exactly equivalent. In the Jones case, Mr. Clinton was sued for inviting a young government subordinate whom he hardly knew to meet him in a private room, where he encouraged her to perform oral sex on him, and asked her to keep quiet about it as she was leaving. The only real difference is that Ms. Lewinsky accepted the proposition; Ms. Jones refused. (Our emphasis)

Yep--exposing yourself to someone you’ve never met, accepting a clear advance from somebody else...it’s all “exactly equivalent” if you’re determined to prove that accusers are tellin’ the truth.

Here at THE HOWLER, we say it again; we don’t know if Jones and Willey are telling the truth. But Margaret Talbot doesn’t have a clue either; she just doesn’t want you to know it. And do you know why Talbot won’t admit it--won’t come out and tell you she just doesn’t know? Margaret Talbot accusers! Can’t you tell by the things that she says?

Next in our series: It’s now clear Kathleen Willey may have been fibbing when she appeared on Sixty Minutes. But back in March, the press corps stampeded to insist she was telling the truth.