What Clinton can Learn From Cleveland 1998 by Philip Ernest Schoenberg, Ph.D. In January of 1998, the "bimbo eruption" took place as President Bill Clinton was accused of sexual improprieties with a White House intern named Monica Lewisnky, half his age. This was one of many sexual dalliances that he was accused of since he had appeared on "Sixty Minutes" in 1992 to face the issue. X-rated Thoughts In July 1884, the Republicans began to chant, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa? Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!" A Buffalo, New York newspaper publicized a sex scandal about Grover Cleveland's private life. Cleveland's political career had skyrocketed from sheriff of Erie County to mayor of the city of Buffalo to governor of New York State to Presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Everything seemed to be in ruins. Political cartoonists had a field day in drawing cartoons of Cleveland and the baby. His supporters came before him expecting a denial. Instead, Cleveland declared, "Above all, tell the truth." He informed the American people that he had had an affair with a widow. She had given birth to a child. He had been one of several men that had been seeing her. As the only bachelor in the group, Cleveland agreed to take responsibility to protect the others. He had given her and the child financial support. When she became an unfit mother because of alcoholism, he had the child removed and later adopted by another family. This child became a doctor. Cleveland did not publicly discuss the issue during the campaign but met with members of the clergy to confess his sin. They concluded that he had done the honorable thing by taking responsibility for the results of his sin without compounding it further by entering into a loveless marriage for the sake of propriety. As a result, the scandal became a dead issue by the time people voted. It was the Democrats who ended the Presidential political campaign with the chant, "Ma! Ma! Where's my pa? Gone to the White House. Ha! Ha! Ha!" What did Grover Cleveland do? He had told the truth, had taken responsibility, and did not repeat this misbehavior. He did not give his political opponents an opening to destroy him as a person, as a candidate, and as a President. Instead, the American people respected him as all too human who deserved a second chance. Cleveland did not disappoint them. As a consequence, character issue did not dog his Presidency. Grover Cleveland had his own White House "intern" affair. He became the administrator of the estate of his law partner, Oscar Folsom. He gave advice to the widow and her daughter Frances. Cleveland bought "Frankie" her first baby carriage. Though never her legal guardian, he guided her education. When she entered college, he received her mother's permission to write to her. Cleveland kept her room filled with flowers. Though mother and daughter missed his first presidential inauguration, they visited him in the White House. Affection turned to love despite the fact that the President was more than twice her age. On June 2, 1886 forty-eight-year-old Grover Cleveland married twenty-one-year-old Frances. She became the country's youngest First Lady. Cleveland did not take advantage of his position of trust either as president or trustee. Since Mrs. Cleveland valued her privacy, President Cleveland commuted from their private residence to the White House to his work. The neighborhood around their house was soon dubbed "Cleveland Park." It is the home of the Washington Zoo. After more than a hundred years, people may be fuzzy about what he accomplished as President but they remember him as a President of good character. ©1998-2005 Presidentialexpert