Some Thoughts on Bill Clinton

As the Democratic Convention convened this week in Boston, I got to thinking about Bill Clinton, one of at least two libertine American presidents. The other was, of course, John F. Kennedy, whose appetite for sexual variety has been documented back to his early adulthood. Despite many similarities between these two presidents, one big difference was that JFK's privacy in his personal relationships was largely respected by the media of the time, being rightly considered irrelevant and inappropriate for public discussion.

Unfortunately, this courtesy was never extended to Bill Clinton, whose sex life has long been considered by the media to be everyone's business, simply for the fact of his libertinism. The media attention to Clinton's sex life was stepped up during his campaign for president and was whipped into a frenzy during the Lewinsky affair. Kenneth Starr and his allies in the Monogamous Majority wasted taxpayer money and the time of our elected representatives simply because Clinton had stepped off the fidelity bandwagon yet again.

It has always boggled my mind that there was not widespread protest at this colossal waste of time and money for something that wasn't anyone's business in the first place. Clinton wasn't elected to uphold the sacred cow of monogamy. He was elected to be President and as long as he was carrying out the duties of his office, it didn't matter whether he screwed every woman from here to Timbuktu, Indeed, if the worst thing his political enemies could find was to nail him with the fact that he strayed from the sexual straight and narrow, he couldn't have been doing that bad of a job. Nowadays, the country has much more serious things to worry about than peeking in Bush's bedroom.

Some will be quick to jump in and say that Starr was right because Clinton lied about his affair with Lewinsky. It is unfortunate, but it's reality that every politician who ever hopes to be elected to office must at least give lip service to the sacred cow of monogamy, despite the fact that most of our presidents probably strayed at one time or another. A politician may not openly admit that he is not monogamous or believes in nontradtional relationships. In recent years, gay and lesbian politicians have been able to come out of the closet, but they, too, must get on the monogamy bandwagon.

In a world more accepting of non traditional relationships, Clinton would not have had to perform these mental contortions and moral gymnastics in the first place. The inquiries into his sex life would never have happened, because it would be considered irrelevant and his own private business. In such a world, Clinton would not have felt the need to lie.

It's time for nonmonogamous people of all varieties to come out of the closet, and stand up be proud of who we are.