Chris Gelken has nearly 20 years experience as a photographer, writer, news editor and broadcaster.

For the past 11 years Chris has been based in Asia where he now works for Hong Kong's leading AM radio news station, Metro Plus.

Chris also contributes freelance material on a wide variety of topics to newspapers, magazines and radio networks internationally.

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The Tabloid Presidency

Disgusting. Doesn't Monica Lewinsky ever wash her clothes? I do not profess to be any sort of expert on stains, but hey, in the glorious days of my youth little accidents were often averted by a swift withdrawal - frequently at the expense of upholstered car-seat covers or some carelessly discarded garment. It is my modest experience that if the offending fluid was quickly wiped away - I sometimes used a little beer that was usually close at hand and the odour of the damp patch was more easily explained - a quick dunk through the washing machine, and presto; no stain.

I know forensic science has come a long way since Sherlock Holmes' magnifying glass, but surely Monica's dress will have absolutely no evidence value if she had done what normal hygenic folks do. Personally, I think the dress issue was introduced simply to make the whole affair more tacky and sordid that it really needed to be. A bit like Paula Jones and her claims of presidential 'distinguishing characteristics'. Sold papers, though, kept Wolf Blitzer in soundbites, and of course, gave us columnists something to write about!

The Lewinsky developments have dominated newscasts over the past couple of days and weighing things up, I reckon Ken Starr has a better than fair chance of coming up empty handed on this one. According to 'reliable sources' Monica is going to tell the grand jury how she and POTUS discussed ways of keeping their alleged affair secret. Well, who wouldn't? No crime in that as far as I can see. As long as Bill didn't directly tell her to lie about it under oath, there is no case to answer.

Without supporting evidence, it comes down to his word against hers. And frankly speaking, I wouldn't be too keen on trusting someone who doesn't wash their clothes very often. But, and it is a very big but, if Starr does have evidence that puts Bill's fingerprints on a smoking gun, what exactly has been achieved?

The president lied about having a fling with an intern. Big deal, all politicians lie, it goes with the territory. There have been far bigger lies told by occupants of the Oval Office than ones aimed at covering up an episode of consentual sex between adults. Lies that have cost lives rather than mere reputations.

As I have said in an earlier column, any married man who had indulged himself would lie if he thought he could get away with it. It doesn't mean the man can't be trusted to balance the budget, reduce unemployment and improve health care. Allegations about Bill's 'off-duty' antics have been splashed across television screens worldwide. The issue even followed him to China, courtesy of the White House press corps.

The sum product of this investigation has been to drag the reputation of the office of the President of the United States through the slime. Clinton and his family have obviously been hurt, but I reckon the reputation of American politics, the judicial system, and standards of journalism have suffered even more. There are better stories out there for journalists to cover and worse crimes for investigators to solve.

I was reading something the other day about how people like to tag periods of time with little catch phrases. Y'know, like the swingin 60's. Bill's time in office will probably go down in the history books as 'The Tabloid Presidency'. And at what cost? Incalculable.

Chris Gelken
30 July 1998
Hong Kong