Main Street Is Weary of D.C.’s Dirty Laundry

Far from the media echo chambers of Washington and New York, most Americans are not exactly holding their breath over daily developments in the Clinton-Lewinsky saga.

On Main Street, the majority do not wait for bulletins about the latest grand jury witness; few scour the headlines for news of Kenneth W. Starr’s court victories, and even fewer seem to care about the partisan winners and losers.

“It’s nobody else’s business, it’s all between him [President Clinton] and Mrs. Clinton,” says Patricia Jones, arranging religious artifacts for sale in Atlanta’s historic Sweet Auburn Curb Market. “The press is blowing it all out of proportion, and I’m tired of it.”

In the Chicago Institute of Art, Mark Jimenez echoes that view, saying: “I don’t want to avoid the truth. But isn’t there other news in America that’s more important than this?”

From a Miami senior center and a Pasadena bookstore to a small Colorado town and a New Jersey diner, Americans may have different takes on the controversy, but they mostly seem to agree on one thing: The story has taken up too much time and prevents the nation from focusing on more pressing issues.

“Our representatives know how we feel, so let’s tell them: ‘Enough is enough!’ ” says Anne Rice, 86, in Miami.

From the beginning, pollsters say, most Americans made up their minds on L’Affaire Lewinsky. They believed President Clinton had sex with his intern, and most concluded that he has not told the truth. They are troubled by his personal behavior, but do not believe that he should resign or be impeached.

Many are repelled by the tawdriness of the story, but that has not prevented others from following the saga with a macabre fascination. Whether these attitudes will shift after Lewinsky’s grand jury testimony is unclear, but pollsters who have been tracking the story say grass-roots distaste for it remains strong.

How big is the gap between Washington and Main Street?

“It’s very real,” says Kathleen Frankovic, who directs polling for CBS News. “I was in Seattle last week, and this is not what people are talking about. People consistently separate Clinton’s job performance from his own personal affairs.”

Indeed, there may be a growing number willing to tolerate some level of presidential lawbreaking. According to a January ABC poll, 65% said Clinton should resign if he lied under oath about the affair; in a poll released last week, however, ABC found only 45% believe he should resign in that event.

Perhaps most remarkably, only 29% of Americans are following the story closely--according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center--even though it dominates the news and clearly fascinates millions.

As Washington counts down the days to Clinton’s grand jury appearance on Aug. 17, folks outside the Beltway are not transfixed. But they have strong opinions and voice them in frank and salty language rarely heard in a capital press conference.

Clinton ‘Doing His Work Beautifully’

In Miami Beach, 20 seniors ranging in age from 70 to 94 are deep into their twice-weekly dancing session at the North Shore Activity Center. But they halt the mambo and cha-cha lessons long enough to sound off on the issue.

Estelle Solomon, wearing pale blue Bermuda shorts and glittering gold sandals, is emphatic: “He [Clinton] is doing his work beautifully. The only one who could object to this is his wife. . . . Leave him alone.”

It’s no big deal if the president “made a mistake and he had a little fling,” the 82-year-old woman adds. And “that dress with the semen on it? So disgusting.”

Maybe Clinton strayed, yet he’s hardly the first, says Rice, 85, noting that “Roosevelt had a tomato all his life.”

Leading the group is instructor Joanne Glenn, 36. She has strong views and can’t resist joining in.

“Were I Monica, I would never tell nobody,” Glenn says. “I would be his mistress forever. I would have a great bank account. No way would I tell. I’m serious. He’s a special-order man who runs the world. And she’s a darn fool.”

Amen, says Sonia Kolin, 70, adding: “It’s a persecution. And I know persecution. I’m a Holocaust survivor. I always enjoyed CNN. But now when I hear TV, I can’t handle it. In Europe they are laughing at us. They’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Betty Kaye chimes in: “A man’s sex life is his own business. It’s up to Clinton. He’s a big boy. He’s a good president. I only feel sorry for his daughter who has to go through this mess.”

William Greenberg, 84, looking smart in a pink shirt and grey slacks, jumps into the fray: “It’s simple. “He [Clinton] runs the country perfect. He can go out with who he wants. His oath of office never said: ‘I’ll be truthful in these matters.’ Any married man who would be asked [about an affair] would lie and ask others to lie.”

Controversy ‘Makes Us Monkeys’ to World

The talk is similarly hot inside a brick diner in New Jersey as truckers sip coffee and smoke. Many of them come to Bambi’s luncheonette in North Brunswick every day, where signs on the wall advertise homemade soup and meatloaf platters.

“This scandal is so publicized and open now, it’s bad for the international view of the presidency of the United States,” says owner Toni Sardis, 51. “It makes us monkeys in front of the whole world.”

With Clinton’s grand jury testimony nearing, folks here are confused about what it all means. But they have a definite sense that the nation’s priorities are out of kilter.

“There are more important things to worry about,” Sardis argues. “I saw a woman in the Grand Union [supermarket] the other day begging for an onion. She was 80-some years old. And we are worried about who Clinton screwed?”

Baloney, says trucker Bill Murphy, 31: “If Clinton had sex with her and said he didn’t under oath, he committed perjury.” The president should uphold a certain moral standard, he adds.

“But we can do what we want, and he can’t?” interrupts Allen Tischler, 55, owner of a trucking and machine shop.

“He’s the president!” says Murphy, sounding flabbergasted. “You don’t think he should have higher standards?”

Sardis insists that what happened behind closed doors should be private, and says she’s stopped watching TV news. The $40 million given to Starr’s probe makes her even angrier.

“It is time for the American people to decide how to spend their money,” Sardis says. “This is a lot of money to waste on nonsense.”

‘In 400 Years, Who Will Really Care?’

On a gray, rainy afternoon, visitors stroll the cavernous halls of Chicago’s Art Institute. As they admire the paintings and sculpture of earlier times, some lament the state of American culture in the 1990s.

“In 400 years, who will really care?” asks Rose Williams, celebrating her fifth wedding anniversary with her husband, Ben. “If Iraq is hiding bombs, people of the future might care. There are more important things.”

“This is culture,” she adds, pointing to a 17th-century painting. But “the news is like a Times Square dirty movie theater. Here, then gone. This [art] will last. But the news is too sensational, just a whiff of smoke.”

“Nothing is proven,” says Ben, cutting in. “They are looking for facts, and it’s taken almost as long as our marriage. It’s cost a lot more too.”

Like many, Ben wants Clinton to clear the air: “I wish he’d come on CNN or ’60 Minutes’ and tell us something. . . . He might be a better actor than Reagan and fool us. But I’m tired of it. I don’t want graphic details. Let Letterman and Leno do that.”

Others confess to a reluctant fascination with the story, like ponytailed Mark Jimenez, a city resident visiting the modern art wing.

“When I read the paper, I am Monica’d out,” he says. “Clinton’d out. Starr’d out. But I still watch. It’s sex, lies and, well, audiotape. It’s not ‘Lady Chatterly’s Lover,’ but it could be in a few weeks.”

‘It’s Nobody’s Business What They Did’

In Byers, Colo., a wind-swept farming town 40 minutes from Denver, some folks would heartily agree with Johnson. But most don’t even talk about Washington’s midsummer soap opera. Here, in a steamy laundry, the only spin is coming from the washing machines, and the state of the harvest is more important than any gossip coming from the capital.

“Why make a big to-do about it just because he’s the president?” asks Clarine Glass, 76, known as Grandma. She hasn’t heard about Lewinsky’s dress and can’t believe someone would keep dirty clothes hanging in a closet for so long.

“I don’t watch the news, I hate watching the news,” complains Tara Witherspoon, a lanky 19-year-old and Glass’ granddaughter. “If it’s true, well, then it’s nobody’s business what they did. If it’s not true, well then I guess Lewinsky needs to keep her mouth shut. She shouldn’t be going in public and saying something so stupid.”

That triggers a squabble with Monte Johnson, the tall, weather-beaten owner of the laundry. Grandma and Johnson bicker amiably, but Johnson’s voice rises: “We didn’t build that White House for having an affair every day! They could put a sign up: ‘We got HBO, we got water beds’ just like a motel!”

In Pasadena’s Old Town, the crowd at Starbucks and Barnes & Noble isn’t in the mood for arguments. They want two things to end: the interminable heat and the controversy.

Here among the chai teas and frappuccinos, Starr and his cast of characters get a cool reception. So what if Clinton had sex with an intern? He’s still doing a good job running the country, according to the chat in one of Southern California’s most popular shopping areas.

“It’s ridiculous, it doesn’t matter at all, even if he did lie about the affair,” says student Terra Fuller, 23. “It is water-cooler gossip. It doesn’t pertain to government.”

Clinton carried Pasadena twice, and people here say they believed from the start that the president had an affair with Lewinsky. But no one is calling for impeachment--even if he lied about it under oath. Some believe Clinton owes the nation a full explanation, while others urge him to stick to his guns.

“He needs to stick with his story, [since] Lewinsky has changed her story apparently and that makes her credibility questionable,” says Edward Tovar, 30, clad in his shorts and sandals. Regardless of the outcome, he adds, Clinton will ultimately be remembered for his philandering and Starr’s investigation.

Against the backdrop of a news rack adorned with magazines dwelling on the saga, some blast the media for profiting from the story. Others say the news coverage has been fair, to the point of giving Clinton a break at times.

But Mason Rutledge, a seminary student, says none of the main characters looks good, as the story continues to unfold.