S03:E04 The Telephone Hour

[Guest]

Quote

Monica leans on Linda for support. Linda begins documenting their conversations.

 

[Spartan Girl]

Boy, Linda was a piece of work. She always believed she was a victim of somebody else, whether it was the White House, her coworkers, the media, or even Monica—despite being the one that shoehorned herself into her life, egged her on to spill all her secrets so she could record her, and then turns around and acts like she’s the doormat. No, I don’t buy her sudden crisis of conscience, she’s still acting like she had no choice in the matter when she all but planned to screw her over since the moment she met her.

Can’t imagine what her kids think now, knowing that she tied up the phone lines so that she could record Monica.

Monica opening up about her past made me understand her a little better. No wonder she was so susceptible to that kind of relationship. Her being assaulted by the camp counselor? That was messed up.

I’m sorry but I would have dry-cleaned that dress first chance I got.

Interested to finally get more of Hillary next week.

[peridot]

Monica is really disturbed, I'm surprised Bill kept her on the hook for so long.  His arrogance was something else.

Monica's story about her drama teacher was sickening.  Convincing his mistress to befriend his wife is so fucked up, and then messing with her life again by moving to her new town. 

It seemed she kept moving one step forward and two steps back.  Seeing those glimpses of when she has a backbone was sad since she kept defaulting to her obsessive behavior.  I didn't realize that her DoD job allowed her to travel the world, that would have been a cool job to have.  I totally understood her idea to move out of town, though.  That UN job would have been a wonderful opportunity.  I would have felt weird getting either the UN or Revlon job, since they were both recommended by Bill.

I would have felt like slime for recording private conversations.  I didn't realize they were daily calls about her drama.  That would have drove me up the wall.

[choclatechip45]

I didn't really understand Linda's freak out. Monica sort of came off as a brat with the UN job. 

[txhorns79]

11 minutes ago, peridot said:

It seemed she kept moving one step forward and two steps back.

Honestly, this is almost the show's theme at this point.  Every episode rotates between scenes of Monica loving and hating Bill, Linda being self-important and Linda and Monica talking on landlines.   

[eyelash]

4 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I didn't really understand Linda's freak out. Monica sort of came off as a brat with the UN job. 

I chocked it up to Linda's frustration that Monica had job options (UN or Revlon) Linda could only dream of, and Monica was instead fixated on the creep without understanding she was just one of many of his little secrets and it was essentially time to move on.  

[Glade]

Hearing that Monica was already groomed and assaulted by a camp counselor when she was 14 makes a lot of sense; when you're very young and obviously haven't healed or gotten a chance to process such an experience, you will be vulnerable to others who want to abuse their power and take advantage of you.  

I was expecting a scene where Lucianne would tell Linda she didn't need to keep the tapes of every random chat she has with Monica if they didn't mention bill or anything related, but it doesn't look like she ever became more selective.  This has become really compelling, I can't wait for next week.

[cardigirl]

"I thought you were a good girl." Talk about a piece of work. 

[Ohiopirate02]

9 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Boy, Linda was a piece of work. She always believed she was a victim of somebody else, whether it was the White House, her coworkers, the media, or even Monica—despite being the one that shoehorned herself into her life, egged her on to spill all her secrets so she could record her, and then turns around and acts like she’s the doormat. No, I don’t buy her sudden crisis of conscience, she’s still acting like she had no choice in the matter when she all but planned to screw her over since the moment she met her.

 

That look of triumph on Linda's face when she gets the subpoena from Paula Jones's lawyers chilled me.  Linda really did not care about how her actions were going to affect Monica, it was all about Linda and Linda finally getting her due.  This version of Linda Tripp deserves having John Goodman play her on SNL.  

[cardigirl]

9 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

 Monica sort of came off as a brat with the UN job. 

Oh yeah, she should have really been grateful. Take the job, Monica, shut up, and go away.  Hmmm.  Well, men have been making and breaking promises to wives and girlfriends for all time and women are supposed to just go along with it. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by cardigirl

[chlban]

I am enjoying this show much more than I expected to. I recall the events but I wasn't into all of the details at the time. I don't honestly remember what I thought about Monica at the time, but I see her as more sympathetic now. I was stupid about men in my 20's and I certainly wasn't dealing with the most powerful man in the world. I have always thought it was kind of a shame that Clinton really had a fairly decent Presidency, but he will always be remembered for this scandal and he is really coming off badly in this show. Linda is just a horrible person. In my mind, Monica gets the biggest pass for her bad behavior based on age and her own experience. Everyone else, not so much.

[hokeypokeyFOIA]

I am exactly Monica's age so had other things going on when this was all happening, but my mom was absolutely obsessed with this story. There was something about the Hlllary/Bill/Linda/Monica dynamic that made her hate every single one of them with a red hot passion. She could not get enough of it and would call me multiple times a day wanting to discuss some new tidbit that had made its way to her. She wanted to see them all burn.

Now that I'm the same age as my mom was then, I'm suddenly getting why it appealed to her at that stage in life. There was a stand-in in her life for every one of those roles and it was Super Big Time Projection. At age 23 or whatever I just didn't get it.

I knew this show was going to be amazing when Molly Jong Fast said she was obsessed with it during a podcast interview with George Conway, who seemed super benign about how he was being portrayed - although that was based on maybe one or two episodes that had aired at that time.

I barely recognize Sarah Paulson and as someone who watched it unfold, Beanie Feldstein inhabits Monica in a way I didn't expect. She's great.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by hokeypokeyFOIA

[iMonrey]

So the Sarah Paulson Emmy submission continues. Honestly, shouldn't the show just be named "Linda"?

I see how hard the show is trying to paint Monica as the innocent victim of Bill Clinton, Linda Tripp and Lucianne, but sorry, I'm not buying it. Yeah I get she was young and had low self esteem, blah blah blah. Lots of people have low self esteem and don't go around sleeping with married men for validation. I'm just not inclined to give her a pass on this. She doesn't come across as a victim to me, she comes off as desperate and pathetic.

I actually almost cheered when Linda finally told her off, until of course she back-pedaled and apologized. We're obviously supposed to see Linda as having second thoughts and feeling bad about doing this to Monica, but in the end she's still awful so what's the point? To show how "nuanced" they are playing this? 

Edited September 29, 2021 by iMonrey

[SailorGirl]

With each episode, I gain even more respect for Monica Lewinsky. I've always been in her corner, but this episode highlights how much she's been able to get some perspective on the entire situation, including her manic and extreme emotional behavior. It had to be tough for her to agree to the scenes where "Monica's mentally unstable" comes across. 

As well, it takes someone who has done a lot of work on herself to be okay with accepting the portrayal of the person who betrayed her as having a bit of humanity. Apparently Linda did struggle a bit with what she was doing to Monica, which I never knew. As we well know, however, Linda's desperate need to be not only seen but seen as "SOMEBODY," quickly shut down any guilty conscience feelings. 

This episode reflects the honesty we've seen in and heard from Monica in interviews and the HBO documentary. And that she is able to have a quick wit and sense of humor about it all? #TeamMonica all. the. way. She is proof that willingness to do the work and good therapy pays off. 

Of course now I can't find the article that talks about this specifically. It did say that many of the show conversations were taken verbatim from the tapes. I'll post it if/when I find it again. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by SailorGirl

[qtpye]

16 hours ago, peridot said:

Monica is really disturbed, I'm surprised Bill kept her on the hook for so long.  His arrogance was something else.

Monica's story about her drama teacher was sickening.  Convincing his mistress to befriend his wife is so fucked up, and then messing with her life again by moving to her new town. 

It seemed she kept moving one step forward and two steps back.  Seeing those glimpses of when she has a backbone was sad since she kept defaulting to her obsessive behavior.  I didn't realize that her DoD job allowed her to travel the world, that would have been a cool job to have.  I totally understood her idea to move out of town, though.  That UN job would have been a wonderful opportunity.  I would have felt weird getting either the UN or Revlon job, since they were both recommended by Bill.

I would have felt like slime for recording private conversations.  I didn't realize they were daily calls about her drama.  That would have drove me up the wall.

 

15 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

I didn't really understand Linda's freak out. Monica sort of came off as a brat with the UN job. 

 

11 hours ago, eyelash said:

I chocked it up to Linda's frustration that Monica had job options (UN or Revlon) Linda could only dream of, and Monica was instead fixated on the creep without understanding she was just one of many of his little secrets and it was essentially time to move on.  

I truly feel bad for Monica but this highlights how being born to privilege gives you opportunities others can only dream about.

As a law student, many of my peers would have loved to work at the UN. Monica just has powerful men make some calls and she has job offers at both the UN and Revlon.

That being said, it seems like Monica's combination of low self-esteem, perkiness, and obsessive worship made her a prime target for predators.

I am glad she seems to be doing well, today.

Edited September 29, 2021 by qtpye

[hoodooznoodooz]

It’s difficult to watch this. Monica was this needy and starved for attention from men. She was a curvy brunette. But if she grew up on the East Coast she might have had a stronger self-esteem?

Did Vernon Jordan really pat her derrière? 

[txhorns79]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Lots of people have low self esteem and don't go around sleeping with married men for validation. I'm just not inclined to give her a pass on this. She doesn't come across as a victim to me, she comes off as desperate and pathetic.

In fairness, I don't think Monica is looking for a pass.  She's been straightforward in interviews that she pursued Clinton and it was a consensual relationship. 

[poeticlicensed]

If Linda had been a true friend and consistently told her to get away from Bill or tried to get her to see a therapist to try and take her focus off Bill, there may have been a better outcome for Monica. 

I can see why Monica had a thing for Bill but I will never understand why he kept stringing her along. Of of fear she would talk? Or was he getting something out of the relationship? I dont think they were doing the nasty at the end so what gives? 

I'm having a hard time with the actress who plays Monica. Monica was way more attractive and not nearly as zoftig. 

Was Paula Jones as much of a dope as she is being portrayed? Cuz lordy. 

Edited September 29, 2021 by poeticlicensed

[qtpye]

15 minutes ago, poeticlicensed said:

If Linda had been a true friend and consistently told her to get away from Bill or tried to get her to see a therapist to try and take her focus off Bill, there may have been a better outcome for Monica. 

I can see why Monica had a thing for Bill but I will never understand why he kept stringing her along. Of of fear she would talk? Or was he getting something out of the relationship? I dont think they were doing the nasty at the end so what gives? 

I'm having a hard time with the actress who plays Monica. Monica was way more attractive and not nearly as zoftig. 

Was Paula Jones as much of a dope as she is being portrayed? Cuz lordy. 

Has Bill Clinton ever wrote or talked about why he decided to keep things going with Monica, beyond just being a horny sleaze?

[Clawdel]

If you want to listen to the real Linda Tripp tapes, you can find them on YouTube on Across the Table channel. 

I am Monica Lewinsky's age and always felt for her, although I thought she was wrong to initiate an affair with a married man. I blamed Bill Clinton 10 times more. 

Now that I'm 48, Linda Tripp is my cautionary tale about avoiding midlife resentment and the perils of aging gracelessly. However, I'm not full of spite and frustration, so maybe there's hope. 

[Ohiopirate02]

30 minutes ago, poeticlicensed said:

I'm having a hard time with the actress who plays Monica. Monica was way more attractive and not nearly as zoftig. 

I am resigned to Beanie playing Monica because Hollywood is gonna Hollywood.  There can be only one plus-sized under 30 actress at any moment, and right now Beanie is it. The only other option according to Hollywood is a thinner actress in fat suit, and we already have that with Sarah Paulsen playing Linda Tripp.  

[jschoolgirl]

2 hours ago, hoodooznoodooz said:

Did Vernon Jordan really pat her derrière? 

I have no doubt.

[txhorns79]

52 minutes ago, poeticlicensed said:

 

I can see why Monica had a thing for Bill but I will never understand why he kept stringing her along. Of of fear she would talk? Or was he getting something out of the relationship? I dont think they were doing the nasty at the end so what gives? 

I presume he was attracted to her, and he's a really, really self-destructive person who makes absolutely terrible decisions in his personal relationships.

[jschoolgirl]

Monica confirms the butt pat.

[poeticlicensed]

I am amused by the fact that Linda thinks that all you need is a bit of salacious gossip and voila you are an author. I keep vascillating about her motivation for doing what she did. Rage, anger at being a civil service drone who was put in Siberia after being at the pinnacle. Or did she really empathize with Monica and wanted to help her or did she just want to get the Clinton's. She is being portrayed as a very unhappy vengeful person. I wonder if since we are getting the story from Monica who admits she harbors great resentment against Linda, if it might be an over the top representation. But I do think that Monica is being brutally honest when advising on her  portrayal. She comes off  immature and  needy. Ugh with the gifts. Just stop. Dont go out cuz he might call. Geez.

[Spartan Girl]

18 minutes ago, jschoolgirl said:

Monica confirms the butt pat.

Ugh that pissed me off so much. And it had been such a good interview up until then.

[cardigirl]

2 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Ugh that pissed me off so much. And it had been such a good interview up until then.

If by good, you mean that Monica knew just how to stroke a man's ego, then yeah, it went well I guess. 

[MamaMax]

 

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

I presume he was attracted to her, and he's a really, really self-destructive person who makes absolutely terrible decisions in his personal relationships.

I don’t think he can resist a woman who worships him the way Monica did.  

[KaveDweller]

3 hours ago, poeticlicensed said:

Was Paula Jones as much of a dope as she is being portrayed? Cuz lordy. 

I read that Paula Jones thinks her portrayal is completely wrong. But I am not sure how credible that is, no one would say they like being portrayed as clueless.

I had really been enjoying this, but in this episode all I could think about was how annoying Monica was. If she was my friend calling that much to whine, I would have stopped taking her calls. Also, why was she was obsessed with Bill getting her a job? Once it became clear he wasn't bringing her back to the White House, why not go out and get her own job like everyone else in the world has to do?

[poeticlicensed]

8 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

had really been enjoying this, but in this episode all I could think about was how annoying Monica was. If she was my friend calling that much to whine, I would have stopped taking her calls. Also, why was she was obsessed with Bill getting her a job? Once it became clear he wasn't bringing her back to the White House, why not go out and get her own job like everyone else in the world has to do?

I think that 1) she felt like he owed it to her and I suspect he had promised many times to get her a job and 2) she was a bit of an entitled princess. I mean you get white house intern jobs because of family connections and wealth, so mum and dad pulled strings. Im sure they pulled lots of strings and gave whatever she wanted. She was 22 and living at the freaking Watergate! Everyone i know who moved to DC as a 22 year old lives in a broom closet with roommates paying outrageous rent. 

[AllyB]

Did anyone else, when seeing Isikof ask Lucianne since when she'd been a spy at the 'safe house' think, "So that's what Claudia did after the Cold War!"

[lovinbob]

18 hours ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

I am resigned to Beanie playing Monica because Hollywood is gonna Hollywood.  There can be only one plus-sized under 30 actress at any moment, and right now Beanie is it. The only other option according to Hollywood is a thinner actress in fat suit, and we already have that with Sarah Paulsen playing Linda Tripp.  

For me, the Beanie casting is off not because she is too overweight, but rather that she has a pretty voluptuous hourglass figure. Monica carried her weight lower down. At the time (we are the same age) I remember thinking she was "chubby" or pear-shaped. Now I would kill for that figure.

[chocolatine]

1 hour ago, AllyB said:

Did anyone else, when seeing Isikof ask Lucianne since when she'd been a spy at the 'safe house' think, "So that's what Claudia did after the Cold War!"

Yes, that's immediately where my mind went! This show takes place about 10 years after The Americans, so timing-wise it's perfect.

It's been mentioned on previous threads that Monica was never able to get a job after the scandal, and this episode partially explains why. It seems like she expected prestigious jobs to just be handed her by her powerful connections. Those of us who've had to make our own way in the world understand that it's necessary to take less-than-dream jobs and work our way up.

It really grossed me out that Monica kept the sperm-stained dress just lying on her closet floor. At least put it into a bag until you're ready to take it to be dry-cleaned.

[chick binewski]

On 9/28/2021 at 11:28 PM, peridot said:

Monica's story about her drama teacher was sickening.  Convincing his mistress to befriend his wife is so fucked up, and then messing with her life again by moving to her new town. 

The drama teacher's account is different. While I have trouble accepting him as a credible source, his ex-wife was communicating with Monica while Monica was in DC. Monica was assuring the wife her husband was faithful.

22 hours ago, poeticlicensed said:

I am amused by the fact that Linda thinks that all you need is a bit of salacious gossip and voila you are an author. I keep vascillating about her motivation for doing what she did. Rage, anger at being a civil service drone who was put in Siberia after being at the pinnacle. Or did she really empathize with Monica and wanted to help her or did she just want to get the Clinton's. She is being portrayed as a very unhappy vengeful person. I wonder if since we are getting the story from Monica who admits she harbors great resentment against Linda, if it might be an over the top representation. But I do think that Monica is being brutally honest when advising on her  portrayal. She comes off  immature and  needy. 

Both Goldberg and Tripp stated in the past that the book deal was not what was at play with the tapes - Goldberg wanted some kind of protection for her source from Clinton's people; Tripp was conflicted about taping for some time, allegedly. 

Again, my biggest problem with this show is the characterization of Linda. The woman had a level of security clearance for 20 years; she had to at least displayed SOME pretense of discretion. It strains credulity to think everyone found her an inept pest, yet she was able to get Vernon Jordan directly involved in this, that the only time Clinton showed any kind of frustration with Monica was when Linda's deeds were coming to light, and that Linda absolutely sneered a good portion of her daily dialogue. 

I felt bad for the level of attention Lewinsky received. I feel there are other players that deserve far worse criticism. But I find her POV difficult to trust. And I dont believe Tripp would have used the term "girlfriend" to reference the Lewinsky-Clinton relationship.

18 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

I had really been enjoying this, but in this episode all I could think about was how annoying Monica was. If she was my friend calling that much to whine, I would have stopped taking her calls. Also, why was she was obsessed with Bill getting her a job? Once it became clear he wasn't bringing her back to the White House, why not go out and get her own job like everyone else in the world has to do?

Lewinsky is being shown doing a bit of foot-stomping, but she actually gave the President a wish list of places to work along with salary expectations. She also let it be known she did not want to be an assistant. 

4 hours ago, chocolatine said:

It really grossed me out that Monica kept the sperm-stained dress just lying on her closet floor. At least put it into a bag until you're ready to take it to be dry-cleaned.

She didn't. Lewinsky has stated she modeled the dress for Tripp. Lewinsky claimed she did this to ask if it made her look fat and it was Tripp who noticed the stain.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, chick binewski said:

But I find her POV difficult to trust.

Yep. She is a very unreliable narrator.

[MsTree]

3 hours ago, chick binewski said:

She didn't. Lewinsky has stated she modeled the dress for Tripp. Lewinsky claimed she did this to ask if it made her look fat and it was Tripp who noticed the stain.

Interesting. I wonder why she changed the scenario for TV?

[xhoipolloix]

Were they waiting for Linda Tripp to die before putting this on air or would they have aired it if she was still alive?

[Ohiopirate02]

40 minutes ago, xhoipolloix said:

Were they waiting for Linda Tripp to die before putting this on air or would they have aired it if she was still alive?

Linda Tripp never had the power to stop a show like this from airing while she was still alive.  

[chick binewski]

48 minutes ago, xhoipolloix said:

Were they waiting for Linda Tripp to die before putting this on air or would they have aired it if she was still alive?

I don't think they were waiting for her to die but some entities may appreciate she can't be questioned, although I don't think Tripp made herself accessible the last few years. 

Lewinsky said in an interview she was a bit shook when she found out Tripp was dying during production.

[KaveDweller]

4 hours ago, MsTree said:

Interesting. I wonder why she changed the scenario for TV?

The writers probably thought her knowing the stain was there and leaving it was more salacious. And it gave Linda a chance to complain about her behind her back. 

I read an interview with Lewinsky where she talked about how a lot of notes she gave producers did not make it into the show. So this may be one of those things.

[Kathcart]

20 hours ago, KaveDweller said:

The writers probably thought her knowing the stain was there and leaving it was more salacious. And it gave Linda a chance to complain about her behind her back. 

I read an interview with Lewinsky where she talked about how a lot of notes she gave producers did not make it into the show. So this may be one of those things.

If they had written it the way Monica says it actually happened, and she modeled the dress and Linda said “hey, what’s that stain on there?” I am sure we — or I, anyway — would have said “Oh, come ON! That is totally unbelievable that Linda Tripp is the one who noticed the famous stain on the famous dress!”

[helenamonster]

Yep, Monica was an entitled brat. Demanding jobs that most of us couldn't dream of ever achieving and then complaining when they weren't exactly what she wanted. And I believe I read here that she only got the White House internship in the first place because of family connections (to be fair, I'm sure everybody who has ever interned at the White House only got there because of who their parents knew--maybe they keep a few spots open for the hoi polloi for the sake of appearances but that's it).

But they did keep stringing her along, despite her extremely obvious emotional issues and obsessive tendencies. Why not just tell her to get lost and bar her from the premises? If they were so afraid of pissing her off and causing her to blab, then getting her a job should have been their first priority. What good did they think they were doing by dithering?

But my heart did go out to her when she talked about what happened with her teacher and her camp counselor. If your only romantic/sexual experiences are nonconsensual or involve a crazy power imbalance, you are not being set up to have healthy relationships in the future. The more I see of her, the more I'm like "girl, get yourself a good therapist, I know you can afford it." It seems like she has since then, but she could have really used it then.

I liked the added details of all the things Linda and Monica were doing during the phone calls that got picked up by the recordings (eating, walking on the treadmill, doing laundry, even kicking off shoes). I remember watching an SNL bit that made a point of exaggerating all the weird background noises after the tapes were released.

[AllyB]

I felt this about both Linda and Monica with the job entitlement. They both bitched so, so much about working at the Pentagon. Ok, so I'm not American so maybe there is some major nuance that I'm missing, but working at the Pentagon seems really impressive to me. If I met two people and one worked at the White House and the other at the Pentagon, I'd honestly be equally impressed. In fact depending on what their jobs were, I could be much more impressed by the person who works in the Pentagon. And considering that Linda was in a secretarial type of role in the White House and received a $20k/p/a salary increase to work at the Pentagon, she probably had the more impressive job title at the Pentagon.

I fully understand that she knew full well that she was being sent away. And I get that the White House was a more luxurious and all round pleasant environment to be in. But $20k in the mid-90s is a massive salary bump. She still had a job that would have impressed just about anyone she talked to. And she would have been able to comfort herself at the spartan surrounds by spending all her lovely extra money!

 

Edited October 2, 2021 by AllyB

[chocolatine]

I think for Linda it was all about appearances. At the WH she had her own, beautifully decorated office, and was the "gatekeeper" for an important man. At the Pentagon, she was sharing a drab cubicle with another admin worker, and had to organize tours for celebrities.

[AllyB]

12 hours ago, chocolatine said:

I think for Linda it was all about appearances. At the WH she had her own, beautifully decorated office, and was the "gatekeeper" for an important man. At the Pentagon, she was sharing a drab cubicle with another admin worker, and had to organize tours for celebrities.

I totally get that. Though I think she, as we see her portrayed here, enjoyed the celebrity aspect of her work. Going from the luxurious office and getting to boss around underlings, to being stuck sharing a cubicle in spartan surrounds would have been tough to take on a day to day basis. However, important new job title. Working at the headquarters of the DoD, a building so important a symbol of American power it would be targeted in the 9/11 attacks just a few years later. When it comes to telling people about your new role, you get to give a mysterious smile and say you really can't talk about it. While also having a huge income bump, which adjusted for inflation is near enough to $700 a week! I'm obviously not a very rich person, because the thought of being considered unwanted and expendable getting me an extra one hundred quid a day makes me slightly yearn to be so unwanted. I have to deal with people disliking me for free!

[LADreamr]

On 10/3/2021 at 5:38 AM, AllyB said:

Though I think she, as we see her portrayed here, enjoyed the celebrity aspect of her work.

Totally agree.  She seemed like the kind of person who yearned for that kind of position and recognition, but also wanted to reserve the right to complain about it, as though she were so important that it was an inconvenience to her.  

On 10/2/2021 at 2:59 PM, AllyB said:

I fully understand that she knew full well that she was being sent away. And I get that the White House was a more luxurious and all round pleasant environment to be in. But $20k in the mid-90s is a massive salary bump. She still had a job that would have impressed just about anyone she talked to. And she would have been able to comfort herself at the spartan surrounds by spending all her lovely extra money!

And omg that beautiful house.  I think I could be happy just in her bedroom.

Edited October 4, 2021 by LADreamr

[kj4ever]

On 10/2/2021 at 2:59 PM, AllyB said:

I felt this about both Linda and Monica with the job entitlement. They both bitched so, so much about working at the Pentagon. Ok, so I'm not American so maybe there is some major nuance that I'm missing, but working at the Pentagon seems really impressive to me. If I met two people and one worked at the White House and the other at the Pentagon, I'd honestly be equally impressed. In fact depending on what their jobs were, I could be much more impressed by the person who works in the Pentagon. And considering that Linda was in a secretarial type of role in the White House and received a $20k/p/a salary increase to work at the Pentagon, she probably had the more impressive job title at the Pentagon.

I fully understand that she knew full well that she was being sent away. And I get that the White House was a more luxurious and all round pleasant environment to be in. But $20k in the mid-90s is a massive salary bump. She still had a job that would have impressed just about anyone she talked to. And she would have been able to comfort herself at the spartan surrounds by spending all her lovely extra money!

 

I lived on $20,000 a year in the early 90's!

[Milburn Stone]

On 9/29/2021 at 3:22 PM, qtpye said:

Has Bill Clinton ever wrote or talked about why he decided to keep things going with Monica, beyond just being a horny sleaze?

He's probably still saying "I did not have sex with that woman."

The final scene, with Bill sitting in a chair in the bedroom in the dark as he watches Hillary sleep...I'll bet it was inspired by the scene in Hitchcock's Notorious when Nazi agent Claude Rains, realizing he has f*cked up big time, goes into his mother's bedroom to give her the bad news and find out what to do next. Bill had that same look. At first I thought it was a look of "she's gonna kill me when she finds out," and then I realized it was a look of "I think I better take this to the brains of the outfit."

[qtpye]

12 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

He's probably still saying "I did not have sex with that woman."

The final scene, with Bill sitting in a chair in the bedroom in the dark as he watches Hillary sleep...I'll bet it was inspired by the scene in Hitchcock's Notorious when Nazi agent Claude Rains, realizing he has f*cked up big time, goes into his mother's bedroom to give her the bad news and find out what to do next. Bill had that same look. At first I thought it was a look of "she's gonna kill me when she finds out," and then I realized it was a look of "I think I better take this to the brains of the outfit."

Monica's levels of adoration and lack of self-esteem remind me a little of those women (usually called groupies) who used to follow rock musicians around and thought spending the night with them was some kind of great honor. She kind of reminds me of Penny Lane from Almost Famous. 

It is not a perfect analogy because Monica did not just go after politicians or men of power but she obviously had a thing for men with positions of authority. I do not know if that stems from daddy issues or that camp counselor abusing her when she was in her teens.

Again, I am glad she seems much more emotionally healthy now.

 

[Chatty Cake]

ML was so dumb confiding in Linda. She seems oblivious that she looks like a slutty asshole bragging about her and gross Bill. The real Monica was prettier and curvy, she was not nearly as big as the actress playing her. Was she as dumb as portrayed? I guess so since it all came out. (Eww that reminds me of the nasty dress)