Friday, August 1, 2014

Lewinsky becomes Vanity Fair contributor


According to Politico, Monica Lewinsky will be contributing to Vanity Fair on an "ongoing basis."

From her June 2014 Vanity Fair essay:
In 2008, when Hillary was running for president, I remained virtually reclusive, despite being inundated with press requests. I put off announcing several media projects in 2012 until after the election. (They were subsequently canceled—and, no, I wasn’t offered $12 million for a salacious tell-all book, contrary to press reports.) And recently I’ve found myself gun-shy yet again, fearful of “becoming an issue” should she decide to ramp up her campaign. But should I put my life on hold for another 8 to 10 years?
...So why speak now? Because it is time.
I turned 40 last year, and it is time to stop tiptoeing around my past—and other people’s futures. I am determined to have a different ending to my story. I’ve decided, finally, to stick my head above the parapet so that I can take back my narrative and give a purpose to my past. (What this will cost me, I will soon find out.) Despite what some headlines will falsely report about this piece, this is not about Me versus the Clintons. Their lives have moved on; they occupy important and powerful places on the global stage. I wish them no ill. And I fully understand that what has happened to me and the issue of my future do not matter to either of them.
...Unlike the other parties involved, I was so young that I had no established identity to which I could return. I didn’t “let this define” me—I simply hadn’t had the life experience to establish my own identity in 1998. If you haven’t figured out who you are, it’s hard not to accept the horrible image of you created by others. (Thus, my compassion for young people who find themselves shamed on the Web.) Despite much self-searching and therapy and exploring of different paths, I remained “stuck” for far too many years.
No longer. It’s time to burn the beret and bury the blue dress. And move forward."

This has always stayed with me:
"Near the end of her [grand jury] testimony on Aug. 20, a juror asked her whether there was anything she wanted to add, and Ms. Lewinsky defended the President while offering a blanket apology for her own behavior: ''I would just like to say that no one ever asked me to lie, and I was never promised a job for my silence. And that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for everything that's happened. And I hate Linda Tripp,'' she said, and began to cry.
Several grand jurors tried to comfort her. One told her: ''We've all fallen short. We sin every day. I don't care whether it's murder, whether it's affairs or whatever. And we get over that. You ask forgiveness and you go on. So to let you know from here, you have my forgiveness. Because we all fall short.''
Several others agreed. One advised her to let go of her feelings for Mrs. Tripp, saying, ''Whatever goes around comes around.'' Again, others chimed in, with ''It comes around'' and ''It does.''
Just before Ms. Lewinsky was excused from the grand jury, the forewoman told her, ''Basically what we wanted to leave with, because this will probably be your last visit to us, I hope I'm not going to have to do this anymore and I hope you won't have to come here anymore, but we wanted to offer you a bouquet of good wishes that includes luck, success, happiness and blessings.''
Ms. Lewinsky again burst into tears and responded in kind: ''I appreciate all of your understanding for this situation and your ability to open your heart and your mind and your soul.''"
-NYT

16 comments:

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

In the Venn Diagram of life, I should think there's a pretty big intersection where you'll find the people who read Ms. Lewinsky and the people who read advice columns and horoscopes.

William said...

She tried to leverage a blow job into a high prestige job at the UN. Didn't work out, but it was worth the effort. Pity. She would have been better grounded in affairs of state than Samantha Powers. Perhaps she'll have better luck in her campaign to portray herself as hors de combat in the Republcan war on women.

Amartel said...

The time to speak was when you were under oath, you silly bim. Now is the time to shut up.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

BTW, that photo is composed to be a subtle parody of this.

I doubt Ms. Lewinsky was in on the joke but I could be wrong about that.

Eric the Fruit Bat said...

That's a pretty famous painting, if you're into that sort of thing.

Palladian dead?

Did he flip everybody off before he went?

Shouldn't I be down in the basement doing pushups, dips, and cable flys?

Beloved Commenter AReasonableMan said...

Next time I appear in front of a grand jury I hope I get the same level of sympathy that she did. I'm practicing my crying right now.

ricpic said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
chickelit said...

William wrote: She would have been better grounded in affairs of state than Samantha Powers.

She confused affairs of state with the state of affairs.

The Dude said...

I think we are now in an era of all things Clinton, all the time, forever and ever, amen.

I wish they would all go away.

ricpic said...

Chelsea has a plan!

rhhardin said...

The men's guide to women
via Maggie's Farm may be applicable.

What's winning about the video is the complete refusal of PC.

Offended feminists would have a place on the chart.

Fr Martin Fox said...

I find myself comparing Ms. Lewinsky to Ms. Sandra Fluke.

They both gained fame -- and fortune? -- for highly dubious "accomplishments."

In the comparison, I think Ms. Fluke actually comes out worse. Because while Ms. Lewinsky became famous for mistakes she'd like to have kept more private, Ms. Fluke gained fame by a deliberate plan, centered around an absurd pitch: Pity me, I'm a pampered student at an expensive college, and I need someone to pay for my contraceptives!

The Dude said...

Man, I need a bunch more money!

deborah said...

I hate you rh.

Martin, I thought it was interesting that Lewinsky kept a low profile during Hillary's first campaign.

There is a ring of truth to her statements. She was horribly traumatized by being a national joke, of that I have no doubt. And maybe she is ready at 40(!) to hold her head up.

deborah said...

Sixty, I'm telling you, there's gold in them slat bats.

chickelit said...

Hysterical, rh!