Bill and Monica: The President Makes Nice

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In our last episode, our heroine discovered that the President was with Eleanor Mondale when he was supposed to be meeting with bankers. Monica became "livid," according to the Starr Report, and stormed home to her Watergate apartment. The story continues...

From her apartment, Ms. Lewinsky reached the President on the phone. According to Ms. Lewinsky, the President was angry that she had "made a stink" and said that "it was none of my business... what he was doing."

Special Report Then, to Ms. Lewinsky's surprise, the President invited her to visit him. She testified that "none of the other times that we had really fought on the phone did it end up resulting in a visit that day..."

During their meeting, Ms. Lewinsky told the President that Mr. Jordan had done nothing to help her find a job. The President responded, "Oh, I'll talk to him. I'll get on it."

Ms. Lewinsky testified that, overall, she had a "really nice" and "affectionate" visit with the President. In an e-mail to a friend a few days later, she wrote that, although "things have been crazy with the creep,... I did have a wonderful visit with him on Saturday. When he doesn't put his walls up, it is always heavenly."

On Thursday, December 11, Ms. Lewinsky had her second meeting with Mr. Jordan. Ms. Lewinsky testified that they discussed her job search... At one point in the conversation, according to Ms. Lewinsky, Mr. Jordan said, "[Y]ou're a friend of the President." This prompted Ms. Lewinsky to reveal that she "didn't really look at him as the President"; rather, she "reacted to him more as a man and got angry at him like a man and just a regular person." When Mr. Jordan asked why Ms. Lewinsky got angry at the President, she replied that she became upset "when he doesn't call me enough or see me enough." Ms. Lewinsky testified that Mr. Jordan advised her to take her frustrations out on him rather than the President. According to Ms. Lewinsky, Mr. Jordan summed up the situation: "You're in love, that's what your problem is."

Mr. Jordan recalled a similar conversation, in which Ms. Lewinsky complained that the President did not see her enough, although he thought it took place during a meeting eight days later. He testified that he felt the need to remind Ms. Lewinsky that the President is the "leader of the free world" and has competing obligations.

Next: The President Breaks It Off