Joe Klein: Arnold's Accusers Serious, Clinton's Were 'Lunatics'
Time magazine columnist Joe Klein said Sunday that groping
allegations against Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger should be taken seriously,
while the women who accused ex-President Clinton of groping and far worse were
"lunatics."
Klein made the bizarre claim on NBC's "Chris Matthews Show" during a heated
exchange with columnist Peggy Noonan.
Responding to Noonan's observation that Schwarzenegger's political bid wasn't
derailed by the last-minute allegations because Democrats had already dismissed
far worse claims by Clinton accusers like Juanita Broaddrick, Klein said,
"[Clinton] was charged with those things by lunatics."
When Noonan reminded Klein that Broaddrick had accused Clinton of a violent
rape, he replied, "I do think that she was an extremist."
Klein's comment drew a rebuke from host Chris Matthews, who noted, "A lot of
journalists from major networks like NBC interviewed Juanita Broaddrick and
found her to be a truth-teller. So you can't call her that."
Despite the rhetorical slap on the wrist, Klein complained moments later that
Schwarzenegger had "lowered the bar" on acceptable behavior and that his
election showed "the California public doesn't care about sexual battery - which
is what this is."
The full exchange went like this:
NOONAN: I'll tell you one reason I don't think - even though you can play
that tape of [Arnold] saying, 'I'll talk about [the allegations] later' over and
over - I think the media and the Democratic Party spent the 1990s saying, 'None
of this matters. You can do anything to women. You can beat them up and put
private eyes on them if they come up and say that ...'
KLEIN: Wait a second. Wait a second. Wait. Wait ...
NOONAN: Excuse me. The media and the Democratic Party ...
KLEIN: You can beat them up?
NOONAN: Well, as a matter of fact, Bill Clinton was literally charged with
that. He was charged with worse things than Arnold. Of course he was ...
KLEIN: He was charged with - he was charged with those things by lunatics. He
was never legally charged ...
NOONAN: Whoa. He was charged by Juanita Broaddrick. I don't think it's fair
to call her a lunatic.
KLEIN: I mean the fact is - the fact is, yes, I - I - I do think she was an
extremist.
NOONAN: Alright. Well, then, let's debate over whether the women who brought
these charges against Arnold are all, quote, lunatics.
MATTHEWS: You know, and a lot of journalists from major networks like NBC
interviewed Juanita Broaddrick and found her to be a truth-teller. So you can't
call her that. [End of Excerpt]
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