The week's big news, and how's it's being spun.
Aug. 9 1998 3:30 AM

Frame Game: Tax and spend. Clinton's Confession II.

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Senate Judiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch offered to spare President Clinton impeachment if Clinton admits to an affair with Monica Lewinsky. Hatch suggested that if Clinton had lied about the affair but not committed a more serious offense, he could avert impeachment by admitting to it, apologizing, and "pouring his heart out to the American people." The conventional wisdom is that if the FBI finds Clinton's sperm on a dress Lewinsky has turned over to prosecutors, Clinton will admit to the affair, issue a "mea culpa" by Aug. 17, and remain in office, but as a diminished president. (: Clinton's chances of survival.) (8/4/98)

William Saletan William Saletan

Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other stuff for Slate. He’s the author of Bearing Right.

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The case of the switched babies took another bizarre turn. Last week, the University of Virginia Medical Center confirmed it had accidentally switched two newborn girls in 1995. This raised ethical questions about whether the girls should be restored to their respective biological parents, which raised the age-old question whether custody should be determined by the rights of biological parents or the children's need for stability. Now USA Today reports one of the sets of biological parents died in a car crash July 4. The high-minded spin: The respective extended families should seek a "Solomon-like compromise" that serves the best interests of the girls. The cynical spin: Good luck, since the pseudo-grandparents of the pseudo-orphaned girl are already fighting "a bitter custody dispute" over her. (8/4/98)

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Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr asked an FBI lab to test Monica Lewinsky's purportedly "semen-stained" dress for President Clinton's DNA. New reports say the dress, which had been dismissed as a myth, was actually concealed in the apartment of Lewinsky's mother (to outwit investigators' search of the daughter's apartment) and has now been turned over to prosecutors. The other purported physical evidence of a relationship--the tapes of Clinton talking to Lewinsky's answering machine--reportedly are innocuous. White House aides are happy Clinton remains high in the polls but are surprised by the disclosure of the dress and worry that it will turn the public against him. The big questions now are: 1) Did the dress actually contain Clinton's DNA? 2) Did Lewinsky launder the dress, and if so, did that destroy the evidence? 3) Will Starr withhold the DNA test results in order to set an additional perjury trap for Clinton when he testifies Aug. 17? (For earlier in the week happenings on the Lewinsky scene, see other items below.) (7/31/98)

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After completing her testimony before the Lewinsky grand jury, Linda Tripp gave a prepared statement to the press, from whom her apologia drew sarcasm and incredulity. (: Why her message fell flat.) (7/31/98)

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Monica Lewinsky reportedly has agreed to testify that President Clinton told her how to cover up their relationship. In exchange for near-total immunity from prosecution, Lewinsky allegedly has told Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's office that she will say that: 1) she and Clinton discussed hypothetical ways to keep their relationship private, including falsely denying what they did unwitnessed; 2) Clinton told her he would deny they had a relationship in his deposition in the Paula Jones case; 3) Clinton encouraged her to say she visited the White House to see Betty Currie, not Clinton; 4) she wrote the "Talking Points," without the help of anyone at the White House. The spins, in order of descending breathlessness: 1) Clinton is finished. When the public hears Lewinsky say he lied, it will turn on him. 2) Lewinsky's testimony goes beyond perjury to witness tampering and obstruction of justice. 3) Clinton will wait out Lewinsky's testimony and shape his story to avoid contradicting hers. 4) Testimony that Clinton and Lewinsky had sex will surprise nobody, and Lewinsky will say the president did not tell her directly to lie. 5) Lewinsky has cleared the White House of the most serious charge: writing the Talking Points. 6) Where Clinton differs from Lewinsky, it will just be "he said/she said," and Clinton will get the benefit of the doubt. 7) If necessary, White House spinners will destroy Lewinsky just as they destroyed Starr. (7/29/98)

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General Motors and the United Auto Workers have agreed tentatively to end their strike. The work stoppage lasted eight weeks, cost GM $12 billion in sales (the worst company loss ever caused by a strike), cost UAW members $1 billion in lost pay, and slowed U.S. second-quarter economic growth by an estimated half percentage point. The optimistic spin: Once both sides realized they had escalated manageable material disputes (e.g., factory closures and investments in equipment) into an unmanageable war over principles (e.g., moving jobs overseas), they settled the material disputes and ended the strike. The pessimistic spin: The escalation reflects a deep distrust between GM and the UAW that will cause an even worse strike when their national agreement expires next year. (7/29/98)

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Bell Atlantic is buying GTE for $53 billion in stock. This threatens to reduce the telecommunications market to four giants: Bell Atlantic (GTE), SBC (Ameritech), Worldcom (MCI), and AT&T. The spins: 1) Telecommunication companies must merge lest they be destroyed by others who have already merged. 2) This shows the 1996 Telecom Act has failed to promote competition, which may lead Congress to overhaul it next year. 3) The solution to merger mania isn't regulation; it's the market, which downgraded Bell Atlantic and GTE's stocks after the merger. The New York Times says this could be "the pin that burst the telecommunication stock bubble." Other spins on the drop: 1) The stocks fell because the market thinks regulators are sick of mergers and are about to crack down on them. 2) GTE agreed to the buyout not because it's good for GTE investors but because it's good for GTE's chairman, who insisted on keeping his job. (7/29/98)