Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/22-30/98)

Despite the febrile probing of the press into the actions and psyches of President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky, as well as those of secondary actors like the first lady and Kenneth Starr, there's one central figure who has become translucent: Linda Tripp.
To the extent any questions about her motivations for betraying a friend's trust and apparent desire to catch the president in flagrante arise, they seem to be near the end of each of the innumerable talk shows as the panels and audiences are fading. Whether raised on-air or in print, they are quickly dismissed under the rubric of "she wanted to be believed." Why she went to Starr in the first place, why she was willing to wear the wire, etc., are questions begging for answers.
What is interesting here is that she seems to be but one of a number of middle-aged women who have made headlines over the past year because of their "putting the hurt" on powerful and popular men: Vanessa Perhach (Marv Albert), Suzen Johnson (Frank Gifford). While their individual cases may differ, their actions seem to be driven by some combination of moral indignation and desire for "justice" (for themselves or other, usually female, "victims"), with a varying degree of thrills and/or monetary gain mixed in.
What is also interesting is the degree of indifference to the pain their actions may have caused to other significant women in these men's lives, almost in an "ends justify the means" vein. One interpretation could be that these women are seeking to empower themselves in response to the (supposedly) disempowering effects of being a middle-aged and perhaps post-menopausal, post-child rearing, non-career woman.
Tripp has been reported as having a severe moralistic and judgmental streak; being stuck in a long, unhappy marriage that ended in a not-so-long-ago divorce; and feeling unappreciated and underutilized at work. While Betty Broderick, another famous middle-aged woman "victim," went literally for the jugular, these righteous women apparently also chose to "hit 'em where it hurts": reputation and/or the wallet. There seems to be an air of "striking a blow for women everywhere" -- riot-grrrls in bifocals, as it were. It almost goes without saying, however, that the men in question made it quite easy.
This could be the subject of an intriguing roundtable discussion between Ms. Bright, Dr. Paglia and Ms. Weaver.
-- James Habron
SALON | Feb. 2, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| THE CLINTON CRISIS

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_______________ THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/22-30/98)
	Despite the febrile probing of the press into the actions and psyches of President Clinton and Ms. Lewinsky, as well as those of secondary actors like the first lady and Kenneth Starr, there's one central figure who has become translucent: Linda Tripp. To the extent any questions about her motivations for betraying a friend's trust and apparent desire to catch the president in flagrante arise, they seem to be near the end of each of the innumerable talk shows as the panels and audiences are fading. Whether raised on-air or in print, they are quickly dismissed under the rubric of "she wanted to be believed." Why she went to Starr in the first place, why she was willing to wear the wire, etc., are questions begging for answers. What is interesting here is that she seems to be but one of a number of middle-aged women who have made headlines over the past year because of their "putting the hurt" on powerful and popular men: Vanessa Perhach (Marv Albert), Suzen Johnson (Frank Gifford). While their individual cases may differ, their actions seem to be driven by some combination of moral indignation and desire for "justice" (for themselves or other, usually female, "victims"), with a varying degree of thrills and/or monetary gain mixed in. What is also interesting is the degree of indifference to the pain their actions may have caused to other significant women in these men's lives, almost in an "ends justify the means" vein. One interpretation could be that these women are seeking to empower themselves in response to the (supposedly) disempowering effects of being a middle-aged and perhaps post-menopausal, post-child rearing, non-career woman. Tripp has been reported as having a severe moralistic and judgmental streak; being stuck in a long, unhappy marriage that ended in a not-so-long-ago divorce; and feeling unappreciated and underutilized at work. While Betty Broderick, another famous middle-aged woman "victim," went literally for the jugular, these righteous women apparently also chose to "hit 'em where it hurts": reputation and/or the wallet. There seems to be an air of "striking a blow for women everywhere" -- riot-grrrls in bifocals, as it were. It almost goes without saying, however, that the men in question made it quite easy. This could be the subject of an intriguing roundtable discussion between Ms. Bright, Dr. Paglia and Ms. Weaver. -- James Habron SALON \| Feb. 2, 1998