Yet, the most intriguing and surprising aspect of the scandal was not that Bill Clinton would ever cheat on his wife or that his administration would survive such a terrible scandal. Nor was it a revelation that the media would be zealously intrigued by a sex scandal involving the President. The one aspect of the Lewinksy Scandal that was truly interesting was the response of the public. Despite the knowledge that Clinton had an affair with an intern and probably lied about it, Clinton's job approval rating did not decrease or even stay the same- his ratings rose to levels approaching 70%

Every time a new damning piece of evidence came to light, media pundits everywhere believed that Clinton's ratings would fall. Yet, they were wrong. The Republican Party believed that the scandal would finally bring down Clinton and his popular support. They also were wrong and paid a conside

The Clinton-Lewinsky Scandal began in January 1998. Clinton was accused of having an improper sexual relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Beyond the moral misconduct were accusations that Clinton may have "committed perjury, suborned perjury, and obstructed justice in connection with the alleged affair." The scandal evolved into an impeachment inquiry, "indicating the gravity of these charges." Leading the inquiry was Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. Starr was the Whitewater Special Counsel and received permission from Attorney General Janet Reno to expand his investigation. The main issue of the investigation was whether Clinton engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with Monica Lewisnky and lied about that relationship in a legal deposition with Paula Jones's attorneys.

The Clinton Presidency faced a never-ending theme of scandals. The multiple encounters with scandal clearly had an effect on Clinton and the Executive Office as a whole. First of all, the continual scandals proved to be an enormous distraction for the White House. The White House was in a constant state of crisis management and damage control.

The media's role in scandal politics has been extensive and pervasive; it is recognized as the main cause for the prominence of political scandals . The media "has assumed credit for the exposure of Watergate and stimulated an industry and sub-culture intent on exposing corruption and wrongdoing in politics" . More so than ever before, media is concerned with the bottom line - money. Scandals are more intriguing than policy issues. After Woodward and Bernstein, lucrative careers and established reputations in the media are not made through objective reporting and journalistic integrity, but through exposing wrongdoings and the salacious secrets of our politicians.

In examining the political life of Bill Clinton, five major scandals stick out: his draft record; Gennifer Flowers and Infidelity; the Marijuana controversy; Whitewater; the Lewinsky Affair. Any one of these scandals could easily - and have on numerous occasions- ruin a political career. Yet, in each of these episodes Clinton was unusually adept at surviving and restoring his image.

Clinton's numerous scandals were not just a result of a muck-raking media, but encouraged further media investigation and attention - resulting, of course, in more scandals. The never-ending stream of scandals clearly made media skeptical and suspicious of Clinton. While none of the scandals constituted illegal behavior, they, as a whole, created an atmosphere of suspicion and a "lack of trust in the President's word" (Busby p.27). Because of the suspicion, the media became increasingly "nosy" and, because of the high demand and value of a scandal, more aggressive.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4102
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page double spaced)