Ten years ago today, a website whose name at the time was unknown to most Americans released information about the President of the United States having an affair with a 22-year-old White House intern.
This eventually led to impeachment proceedings against then President Bill Clinton - which many political analysts feel is a partial cause of the continued acrimony and contentiousness between Democrats and Republicans across the country - whilst also radically changing the journalism industry as we know it.
Lest we not forget how this sad event impacted sexual mores in our nation, unquestionably for the worse.
Given the extraordinary historical importance of this event to America and Americans on so many levels -- and the wife of the president in question currently involved in a presidential campaign of her own -- one has to wonder just how much focus media will give this anniversary today.
Thankfully, we can always count on journalists across the Pond to report that which goes counter to our press's agenda; here's what the British Times had to say about this issue (emphasis added):
On the evening of Saturday January 17, 1998, the internet gossip merchant Matt Drudge posted a story that opened the most sensational scandal season in the history of the American presidency. He reported that Newsweek magazine had killed a story about President Clinton's sexual relationship with a former intern. The next day he had her name: Monica Lewinsky.
The mainstream media were slow to catch up, but by the following Tuesday they were reporting that Clinton was being investigated for encouraging others to lie to cover up the affair.
For the next year the story dominated the headlines as Clinton was investigated, impeached and eventually found not guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours in a Senate trial.
Ten years on we know what happened to Bill Clinton. He is campaigning tirelessly for his wife as she seeks to win the second Clinton presidency. It is a curious twist of fate, and an indication of how deep were the repercussions of the scandal, that her campaign might not be happening if it weren't for Monica Lewinsky.
For it was in the wake of the scandal, in which Hillary was seen as the wronged wife, that she decided to run for the Senate from New York. Her shamed husband, anxious to try to make things up to her, eagerly threw his weight behind the move. A wave of sympathy helped to sweep her to victory. As soon as she was elected, talk began about her running for president.
Can you imagine any mainstream American press outlet addressing the anniversary of this scandal this way?
Will our press talk about this at all on this evening's news broadcasts, or, much as they did before Drudge broke the news ten years ago, ignore it?
While you ponder, you should read the entire Times' piece, because it addressed the Paula Jones case, Kathleen Willey, Linda Tripp, and many of the sordid details of this scandal that media will likely boycott on its tenth anniversary in order to shelter Hillary from scrutiny.
*****Update: Don't miss the fabulous bumper sticker now on display at Michelle's website!
