At the speed of scandal : History happens
Posted on Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Not a lot has been made of the John Edwards scandal, by which I mean it came, it blew up and it pretty much disappeared. As scandals go, it didn’t have much staying power, probably because Edwards himself didn’t. He came on the scene, never got himself nominated for president and someday may be a political trivia question: Who was John Kerry’s running mate ? Clue: The National Enquirer broke a story about his alleged love child. Scandal, big or small, is always with us, and that’s our topic. It also was the topic of a recent discussion on a local radio station. I participated in that discussion, on KUAR-FM, the radio voice of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. This particular program, “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,” features thoughtful folks from three generations. From the older generation was Ernie Dumas, best known as a journalist for the Arkansas Gazette. From the younger generation was Shannon Richardson, a UALR sociologist. Even more thoughtful than the guests was the host, Phil Mariage. For those in need of entertainment, the whole program can be accessed on the radio station’s Web site.
Mariage asked us all about the scandals that have defined our respective generations. My answer, I am confident, was lame and confused. Having some time to think about it, let me toss out three and explain why.
First up is Watergate. What a mess that was, what with CREEP and Richard Nixon’s burglars and the break-in at the Watergate Hotel.
For those who came in late, some guys broke into the offices of the Democratic Party in Washington. They were nabbed and traced back to the Committee to Re-Elect the President, who happened to be Nixon. From there it was all downhill.
Nixon eventually resigned, the only U. S. president to do so. Chief among his tormentors were The Washington Post and reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. Both have enjoyed long and prosperous careers as journalists and authors.
Watergate had staying power as a scandal. It generated an industry of people who wrote about it, were part of it, went to prison because of it and profited from it. Athough the expression seems to have somewhat declined, for a long time every political scandal that bubbled up in Washington had the suffix “gate” attached to it.
Watergate was a high point for newspaper journalism. Newspapers were the main driver behind the revelations and inspired legions of young people to pursue journalism as a career.
An excellent idea, still undone, was suggested to me once by Bonnie Thrasher, the wonderful journalism professor at Arkansas State University: Her students would watch the movie, then I’d discuss with them how journalism has changed since 1972. Note to Bonnie: That might take more than one class session, but I’ll talk fast.
Watergate remains legendary, even mythical, in journalism history. Last year in Washington, there was an event at which Woodward, Bernstein and their former editor, Ben Bradlee, were on stage together. I was there with hundreds of other journalists. It was electric.
Second on my list of significant scandals is the Wilbur Mills debacle. Folks, you had to be around to fully appreciate this one.
Mills was a congressman from Arkansas’ 2 nd District. On Oct. 7, 1974, the car in which he was riding was stopped by police in Washington, D. C., for not having its headlights on. Another passenger, an, um, exotic dancer by the name of Annabella Battistella, stage name Fanne Foxe, got out of the car and fell or jumped into the Tidal Basin.
Really, you couldn’t make this up. Suffice to say that this was thunder and lightning. Mills was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, a powerful job, and he was an expert on the federal tax code. He later admitted to a problem with alcohol.
The timing of this incident should have helped his opponent in the November election. Not. Mills smoked the Republican, Judy Petty, by a score of roughly 58 to 42 percent. Maybe there wasn’t enough time—a mere month—between the incident and the election for it to sink into the minds of voters.
Miss Battistella was 38 at the time. She’d be 72 today. Fanne, if you’re out there, darlin’, call and we’ll chat.
Third up: Clinton-Lewinsky. It’s been a decade. Honestly, it happened in 1998.
In my view, this scandal is noteworthy for the incredible speed of its transmission and dissemination. When Nixon obstructed and when Mills partied, there were newspapers, radio stations and three television networks. By the time Monica Lewinsky came out of the woodwork, the cable news industry had grown, flourished and matured. And the Internet offered instant communication and spreading of news. As scandals go, this one had the distinction of moving faster than the speed of light. It achieved nuclear fission and explosion almost instantaneously. Let’s get back to the radio program at KUAR. Mariage asked if scandal had a use, a purpose, a value. Sure. Let me quote two wise men. They would be William Shakespeare and Clyde McGinnis. Hamlet said it this way: “What a piece of work is a man....” The late Mr. McGinnis of Batesville said it this way: “Everybody’s good for something, even if it’s to show others how not to be.” —–––––•–––––—Frank Fellone is the Democrat-Gazette’s deputy editor.
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