With three weeks still to go, it’s unclear whether the latest allegations will affect Clinton’s chances at the polls. NEWSWEEK’S informal preprimary sounding last week suggests that an anti-press, anti-phony puritanism backlash may be building in the chilly air of New Hampshire. And in a state with 7 percent unemployment, it shouldn’t be surprising that people seem to care a good deal more about the economy than about Bill Clinton’s private life. It’s almost as if voters would gladly forgive a politician his little peccadilloes in return for some concrete solutions to the recession and health-care crisis, A couple of recurring pieces of advice for the governor of Arkansas from the people of New Hampshire were: Don’t lie. And don’t get caught like Hart. A sampler of voter reaction:
secretary, Tsongas supporter: “We’re voting for president, not pope. My husband lost $15,000 over the last three years, We just don’t care about Clinton’s personal life. We’re more interested in hearing more about his plan.”
bookstore manager, undecided: “This country has too many problems to focus on something like [the sex allegations. But] if it was a case where this was a behavioral pattern, that might make a difference.”
restaurant manager, undecided: “We’ve all made mistakes. I would hope the country has changed since the Gary Hart issue. The press is just dragging it out one more time. Does it make him a better or worse man? I don’t know if I believe the stories, either. It’s the same old thing: dragging up dirt.”
bowling-alley owner, Clinton supporter: “His private life is his private life. Kennedy was a womanizer and he did a pretty good job. [But] it depends on the extent. If he’s off the wall about this I’d have to look at it.”
saleswoman, Clinton supporter: “I’m impressed by his IQ And I think his wife is so smart, and wives have a lot of influence. Even if [the affair] happened, it’s been over, so who cares? It’s his personal life; it doesn’t have anything to do with his political judgment. If he got caught like Gary Hart, that would change my mind, because that would be dumb.”
lawyer, Tsongas supporter: “If we had known everything about JFK, we wouldn’t have had him in the White House. All this digging has gone too far.”
agency administrator, undecided: “I don’t think [the Star story] is relevant. Sometimes I think if you have a candidate who’s never strayed from the straight and narrow, you have someone who’s never taken a risk. Is that what we want as president? We’ve all done things we’re not proud of. I’m just not sure how relevant it is to whether this person can provide leadership, can get some serious problems solved … He should just say, ‘I’m sorry, but that’s who I am; I’m human’.”
