25 Years Later, Looking for Lessons in the Clinton Scandal
But not forgotten. While many of today’s political operatives in Washington were in elementary school at the time of the Clinton scandal — perhaps shielded from it by parents leery of all the talk of thongs, cigars and a sullied blue dress — some of the veterans of that era are still around and at the center of the current investigation.
Bob Bauer, Mr. Biden’s top personal lawyer, advised the House and Senate Democratic leaders during the impeachment and trial of Mr. Clinton. Ron Klain, the current president’s White House chief of staff, served in the same role for Vice President Al Gore back then. Steven J. Ricchetti, now Mr. Biden’s counselor, was Mr. Clinton’s deputy chief of staff.
Some fellow Democrats complain that they have not applied the lessons of the Clinton era. Lanny J. Davis, who served as a White House lawyer for Mr. Clinton and a vocal defender, said the Biden White House should have proactively disclosed the discovery of papers in the president’s garage in Wilmington, Del., rather than waiting until the media reported it.
“Been there, done that,” Mr. Davis said on Saturday. He expressed sympathy for the Biden team, saying he did not want to be an outside kibitzer and understood the arguments of lawyers who opposed premature public disclosure. “But they don’t counter the political damage if it’s coming out anyway.”
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Others took different lessons from the Clinton case, though. Paul Begala, who was Mr. Clinton’s White House counselor, said Mr. Biden should remember that Mr. Clinton had made a point of leaving it to others to talk about the investigation while he appeared to focus on policy issues that were important to the public.
“Biden’s following a lot of the lessons of Clinton,” Mr. Begala said. “The most important lesson is the voters, the people, want someone focused on their problems, not their own. What sustained Clinton, what got him to 71 percent in the polls, was not that people approved of having an affair with a young woman in the office. It’s that they were appalled that Republicans tried to derail this young president who seemed to be working for them.”
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