AP
By CATHERINE LUCEY
Oct. 7, 2016 9:10 AM EDT
Yet it's a fraught subject for both candidates. Bill Clinton aides moved aggressively to discredit women who alleged sexual contact with him, while Hillary Clinton stood by her husband publicly in much of that era and cast his accusers as part of a "vast right-wing conspiracy."
Dianne Bystrom, director of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, said the Lewinsky episode humanized the Clintons for many Americans. "People felt sorry for her," she said.
Bill Clinton has long been dogged by allegations of womanizing, extramarital affairs and abuse. During his 1992 campaign, Betsey Wright, a longtime aide to the Clinton, dubbed the problems "bimbo eruptions," a label that appeared aimed at discrediting them.
But the most damaging episode was his relationship with Lewinsky. The two met in 1995 when she was a 22-year-old intern and she later revealed they had a series of sexual encounters over a roughly 18-month period. Clinton initially denied the relationship, but eventually admitted it and said he "misled people, including even my wife."
The president was impeached over the episode, accused of obstruction and perjury, and acquitted by the Senate.
Lewinsky is not the only relationship baggage for Clinton. In 1998, he agreed to an $850,000 settlement with Paula Jones, an Arkansas state worker who had accused Clinton of exposing himself and making indecent propositions when Clinton was governor. The settlement included no apology or admission of guilt.
Juanita Broaddrick, a nurse, in 1999 claimed she was raped by then-state Attorney General Clinton at a Little Rock hotel in 1978. Clinton's attorney denied the claim at the time and Clinton was never charged. Kathleen Willey, a White House volunteer, claimed Clinton fondled her when she met privately with him at the White House in 1993 to seek a job. Clinton has denied the allegations by both women.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b962791bc41a4d558986df7ace1a4719/remember-monica-2016-campaign-cant-shake-1990s-scandal
