L'affaire Clinton, a president lured by the thong of temptress Monica, became the major media spectacle of the late '90s. Rural, Southern, conservative Christians regarded him as the symbol of the social, sexual, and civil rights revolutions of the '60s that had been an affront to their values. The attempt to remove him from office was a “culture war” in which his detractors had not understood just how far the political center of the country had moved. Given greater levels of education, more women in the workforce, and growing cosmopolitanism, the country had become more socially liberal and regarded his peccadilloes as his own business. Moreover, the rank hypocrisy of his accusers gave them little credibility. Nevertheless, as a political soap opera, its cast of characters, its sex, sin, betrayals, courtroom drama, and contrition was another step eroding the boundaries of the political and entertainment in an “amusement society.”
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