There was a moment not too long ago when some of us wondered whether the #MeToo movement would at long last transform former President Bill Clinton from media darling to persona non grata.
On Tuesday, as CBS’ Stephen Colbert dutifully ran cover for America’s 42nd president, we got our answer.
Clinton appeared Monday morning on the “Today” show to promote his new book, The President Is Missing, but things went sideways quickly after his interviewer, Craig Melvin, brought up the #MeToo movement. More specifically, things soured for Clinton after he was asked about his infamous affair with then-22 year old White House intern Monica Lewinsky, who claims she suffered PTSD in the years following the sex scandal.
“Through the lens of ‘Me Too’ now, do you think differently or feel more responsibility?” Melvin asked.
“No, I felt terrible then. And I came to grips with it.”
“Did you apologize?” Melvin continued.
“Yes, and nobody believes that I got out of that for free. I left the White House 16 million dollars in debt,” Clinton responded.
The former president clarified later that he has never actually apologized to Lewinsky. He also argued that he is the real victim, and that his suffering is all too real. In other words, Clinton’s handling of the matter was as disastrous and tone-deaf as one could imagine.
Enter his media enablers. Over at MSNBC, former Clinton aide Jennifer Palmieri massaged the ex-president’s bombed interview, stressing that he felt “real remorse in 1998.” She did, however, at least acknowledge that #MeToo has put Clinton’s past abuses into a different light. (One shouldn’t need a major moment to realize that abuse of power is bad, but whatever. Baby steps.)
Palmieri’s remarks are nothing compared to what Stephen Colbert offered Clinton this week: A complete do-over.
“Do you understand why some people thought that was a tone-deaf response to his questions about the #MeToo movement and how you might reflect on your behavior 20 years ago, and how that reflection may change based on what you’ve learned through the #MeToo movement?” Colbert asked Clinton Tuesday.
Colbert added finally, “Would you like a do-over on that answer?”
The former president, teed up, took his opportunity to do a little damage control, “Here’s what I want to say, it wasn’t my finest hour, but the important thing is that was a very painful thing that happened 20 years ago and I apologized to my family, to Monica Lewinsky and her family, to the American people. I meant it then, I mean it now. I’ve had to live with the consequences every day since.”
Well done, Colbert. It must be a great feeling, knowing you gave an accused sexual abuser room to clean up his mess with a sanitized, focus-grouped response.
Where most people would watch the Colbert interview and recoil at the show of slavish deference, many in media saw a tough interview, with some using words like “grill” and “confront” to characterize the interaction.
Boy. We’ve come a long, long way from “I believe Juanita Broaddrick.”
