Has Time Caught Up With Former President Clinton's Sexual Behavior?

Paula Jones (L), Kathleen Willey (C) and Juanita Broaddrick (R) eventually sat in the audience for Sunday night's second presidential debate. PAUL J. RICHARDS, AFP

Caitlin Flanagan, The Atlantic: Bill Clinton: A Reckoning

Feminists saved the 42nd president of the United States in the 1990s. They were on the wrong side of history; is it finally time to make things right?

The most remarkable thing about the current tide of sexual assault and harassment accusations is not their number. If every woman in America started talking about the things that happen during the course of an ordinary female life, it would never end. Nor is it the power of the men involved; history instructs us that for countless men, the ability to possess women sexually is not a spoil of power; it’s the point of power. What’s remarkable is that these women are being believed.

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WNU Editor: The culture has definitely changed since the days when Bill Clinton was President and the charges of him sexually assaulting/groping/etc. women were dismissed at the time as nothing more but consensual sex. I still remember the arguments with my brother on this issue, and him lecturing me that this was just an excuse being used by the Republicans to get rid of President Clinton. Fair enough .... there were politicians who wanted to use these charges to impeach him. But this ignores the fact that the optics of him getting away from these charges only became a green light for some in positions of power that if he could get away with it, so can they. And as for the main stream media .... the story of men in power using their position to take advantage of women (and in some cases young children) became a non-story for many with the exception of the tabloid press and bloggers/pundits/etc. on the internet. What has changed this .... I do not know. But if I was to pinpoint a time and place I would start with the Trump-Clinton debate when Donald Trump brought many of Bill Clinton's accusers to the debate, and placed them in front of Hillary Clinton (see above photo). I still remember many in the media being critical of that move, but upon reflection I do remember that among millennials who were learning about President Clinton's behavior for the first time, and the role that Hillary Clinton played in attacking these women .... there was disgust. Since then .... the floodgates have opened. Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore .... the list is long and it is getting longer. The culture is definitely shifting .... and behavior that was not an issue for many in the past is now becoming an issue. For former President Bill Clinton this is going to be a problem. There is talk on opening a special counsel to investigate how the Clintons used the U.S government to enrich themselves personally. And while I am sure there is going to be a lot of attention on Uranium One, $500,000 speaking fees to talk for one hour, $150,000,000 donations to his foundation, etc. .... I am willing to bet his sexual behavior is also going to be examined, brought up, and judged in the court of public opinion.

Update: Another sign on how much the times have changed .... the media would never have covered this story a few years ago .... 'Nothing about it felt right': More than 50 people describe sexual harassment on Capitol Hill (CNN).