Abstract
As allegations of Bill Clinton’s sexual indiscretions began to pile up, many ordinary citizens asserted that they were no big deal. Hadn’t John Kennedy indulged his sexual appetites while in the White House? Didn’t Franklin Roosevelt have a mistress? Weren’t there even reports that the straight-laced George Bush had had an affair? So what then if Monica Lewinsky had engaged in oral hanky-panky with a sitting president, or if Kathleen Willey had her breast fondled by him in the Oval Office; it was their business and no one else’s. Consensual sex was a private matter for everyone—including a president—and the rest of us had best refrain from peering into what amounted to his bedroom. Let Bill and Hillary sort things out between themselves, for whatever suited them should suit us all.
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Notes and References
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(1999). No Respect. In: The Limits of Idealism. Clinical Sociology: Research and Practice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-585-29601-2_9
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