Why Whitewater Matters

At the heart of the Clinton presidency lies an oddity. Bill Clinton has been plagued by questions of character and trustworthiness throughout his career. He earned the nickname Slick Willie long before he ran for the White House. The man who "didn't inhale" is a man the public does not trust. His slickness is such a given that in a column defending the President, Michael Kinsley quite casually, indeed parenthetically, concedes that Clinton all but lied about Gennifer Flowers.

And yet this is a presidency that makes a public fetish of its virtuousness. The Clintons really do believe that they are...

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