Behind the current Clinton scandal stands the specter of Watergate. That it should be there is understandable. The bungled burglary at the Democratic Party national headquarters occurred twenty-six years ago this past summer. Next August will see the twenty-fifth anniversary of Richard Nixon's resignation as President of the United States. Watergate then is still very much a part of living memory, and living memory is the type of history most relevant to the general public because it is the history with which they are most familiar. Consequently, Watergate has come to exert a powerful influence on the terms of reference by which people understand the Clinton scandal.
Some analogies to Watergate are admittedly quite apt. Monica Lewinsky's stained cocktail dress was a "smoking gun," providing definitive proof the President lied in denying a sexual relationship with the intern. Clinton's August 17 confession also was a quintessential "modified limited hangout." However, much of the......
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