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METAPHORS IN ACTION
NOW THAT THE CLINTON PRESIDENCY is over, we are starting to get some closure on the many charges and allegations that were directed against the President and the First Lady, also known as "Bill and Hillary." The Clinton '90s were a time of extraordinary vitriol in politics. An unending barrage of accusations against the Clintons culminated in "Monicagate," and an actual impeachment of the President by Congress. However, much of the sound and fury was within the Washington beltway and the major media - the public did not get on board. Public opinion polls refused to support removing Clinton from office, and Congress did not convict him.
A series of metaphors played an important role in the partisan attacks on the Clintons - the "-gate" metaphors referring back to the Watergate scandal. In a study of Watergate metaphors, I found 17 different "-gates" directed at the Clintons. The fact that Watergate was perpetrated by a Republican president did not curb the enthusiasm of the Republican "-gate" coiners.
The "-gate" metaphors had many advantages. They functioned well in an era of sound bite politics, immediately associating the Clintons with an odor of political scandal. The public understood the scenario of Watergate, the metaphors implied that this scenario was being repeated in the various incidents in the 1990s. There were depositions, revelations, Congressional hearings, accusations of cover-ups. There were special prosecutors, with the constant threat of indictments. The real Watergate scandal had, in fact, led to the resignation of President Nixon. The anti-Clinton forces hoped to force Clinton out of office also.
The most widely used "-gate" metaphor of the 1990s was, according to my study, "Travelgate." Early in the Clinton administration, in May, 1993, the entire staff of the White House travel office was fired. There was an immediate media storm of criticism, and the "Travelgate" metaphor was born. A Clinton campaign contributor had complained about the travel office's refusal to consider his charter airplane company for government business. It looked like old-style political cronyism of the sort Clinton had campaigned against. Bill Clinton defended his actions by claiming that there were financial improprieties in the office, and called in the FBI...