Not Real Apology: President Clinton Speech - Essay Example

Not Real Apology Introduction In 1995, President Bill Clinton is reported as having begun a sexual relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. After a short time, the White House arranged for Lewinsky to be transferred from the White House and get a job at the Pentagon. Lewinsky disclosed the affair to another Pentagon employee Linda Tripp, who started to secretly tape the conversations that they were having. In 1998, Tripp gave these recordings to US Special prosecutor Kenneth Starr who was then investigating charges of sexual harassment against Clinton while he was still the Governor of Arkansas. Although both Lewinsky and Clinton initially both refuted the affair before a grand jury. They eventually admitted to the affair on national television. Clinton later on apologized to his family, the American people and to God for the affair. By conducting a rhetorical analysis of the speech that was given by President Clinton as he apologized, this paper will seek to argue that President Clinton did not want to make an apology to his family and country. Rhetorical Analysis Showing that Clinton did not want to Apologize to his Family and Country Over the Lewinsky Affair An analysis of President Clinton’s speech in his apology reveals some elements that hint at the probability that President Clinton did not really want to apologize to his family and America. These elements include: In his speech, President Clinton alludes to the fact that he had just finished testifying before both the grand jury and the Office of Independent Counsel (OIC). He mentioned that although he had answered the questions in a truthful manner, he had answered a number of questions pertaining to his own private life; questions which he points out no American citizen would ever want to answer. This statement hints at the fact that President Clinton might have been forced to answer a number of questions which he was not quite comfortable with answering. The opening statement also suggests that it is quite possible that Clinton was using the speech not as an apology, but as a means to denounce the OIC and the Grand Jury for the fact that he had been forced to answer a number of private questions pertaining to himself. This position is further strengthened by the fact that in his next paragraph, Clinton does not apologize but instead argues that during a deposition that had been conducted in January, although he had not volunteered any information, his answers during the deposition had been legally accurate. Clinton does not apologize for his relationship with Miss Lewinsky but instead terms it as having been wrong. Immediately after terming the relationship as a personal failure on his part, President Clinton goes on the defense and points out that he never “asked anyone to lie, destroy evidence, hide it or take any action that might be deemed as being unlawful” (Clinton, 136-137). In his speech, President Clinton does not apologize for his silence and public comments which he himself acknowledges might have served to mislead people, he instead opts to try and justify his actions arguing that his actions and silence had been primarily motivated by factors such as the desire to try and protect himself and his family from the embarrassment of his own conduct as well as the fact that the questions pertaining to his relationship with Miss Lewinsky were at the time being asked in a politically inspired lawsuit which had eventually been dismissed. In his defense, Clinton also argued that at the time, his comments and silence over the Lewinsky affair had also been informed by the fact that there was an independent counsel investigation that had began with private business dealings that had began over 20 years ago. He bemoans the fact that although the investigation had over two years ago found no evidence of any wrongdoing by him and his wife, this independent counsel investigation had nevertheless moved on to investigate his staff members, friends and ultimately his very own private life. Clinton also mentions that the investigation was itself currently under investigation. In this part of the speech, Clinton is seen to continue deflecting his having to offering an apology to his family and country and by pointing out how the independent counsel investigation had continued to pry into his life, that of his staff members as well as his friends, President Clinton is seen to have been attempting to gather public support based on sympathy. This aspect is further emphasized by the fact that in his next statement, President Clinton argues that the investigation had gone on for way too long, had hurt too many innocent people in addition to its having cost too much. He affirmed that the matter was now solely between himself and the two people that he loves most, his daughter and his wife. Instead of apologizing, President Clinton affirms he was prepared to do whatever it takes to make it right and that nothing was more important to himself personally. After highlighting the need for him to make amends, President Clinton points out that it is a private matter and that he fully intended to reclaim his family life for his family. By stating the matter was “nobody’s business but ours” (Clinton, 136-137), President Clinton is seen to not be in anyway apologetic but instead implies that since the matter was purely personal, he did not have to apologize to the American public because as he further points out “Even presidents have private lives” (Clinton, 136-137). President Clinton’s arguments can also be construed to mean that if there were any apologies to be made, they would eventually be made only to his family in a private setting and not a public one. President Clinton argues that it was time to stop the incessant “pursuit of personal destruction and the constant prying into private lives” (Clinton, 136-137). In this statement, President Clinton is noted as having not apologized for his action to the American public, he instead focuses on urging members of the public to go on with their lives and stop the involving themselves in his personal life as this was causing some degree of destruction to both himself and his family. He urges American to get on with their national life. President Clinton uses the term “distracted” while affirming that the Lewinsky affair had consumed the American public for a long time (Clinton, 136-137). The use of this term can be deemed as being an attempt to try and reduce the gravity of the affair and lend to it a lighter note. By attempting to lend a lighter note to the entire scandal, President Clinton is seen to be trying to brush off the entire scandal and cause it to be perceived as a light and not so serious affair. President Clinton then goes on to once again urge the public to move on and that there was “important work to do” (Clinton, 136-137). This statement is seen to be an attempt to stress on the fact that the Lewinsky affair was not an important matter that should be attended to and as such there was no real need for an apology over this matter. In his speech, President Clinton further encourages the nation to move on past the crisis by pointing out that the nation should move forward as there were “real problems to solve” (Clinton, 136-137). This statement is seen to suggest that President Clinton did not perceive the Lewinsky affair as being a serious problem that should consume and disrupt the affair so the country and ultimately require any form of public apology whatsoever. This position is seen to be emphasized when at the close of the speech, President Clinton urges the country to turn away from the spectacle that it had witnessed over the previous seven months and instead seek to repair the fabric of the national discourse. Conclusion It is interesting to note that in his entire speech, President Clinton did not come off as being remorseful. Although the speech is supposed to be an apology, he never used terms such as “apologize” or “sorry”. He instead comes across as merely attempting to try and defend his position while urging the country to overlook the entire scandal and go on to concentrate on “serious problems” (Clinton, 136-137). President Clinton’s choice of words and phrases hints at the fact that he did not perceive the entire Monica Lewinsky affair as being a serious matter that should consume and impact the affairs of the nation, in the matter that the scandal had done for over seven months. In his speech, President Clinton attempts to divert attention from the scandal to the investigation that had been conducted on his private business affairs. He bemoans the fact that after failing to link him and his wife with any wrong doing, the investigation had veered off to focus on his staff and friends. This is deemed as having been an attempt on the part of the president to try and elicit some sympathy as to the suffering that his staff members, friends and family were unfairly being exposed to. Works Cited Clinton, President Bill. “Map Room Speech.” In Our Own Words: Extraordinary Speeches of the American Century. Eds. Sen. Robert Toricelli and Andrew Carroll. New York: Washington Square P, 1999. 336-37. Print. Read More