muon2
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« on: January 22, 2005, 02:49:13 PM » |
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In looking at scandals and their impact on the presidency there are two important factors: does the scandal trace to the president, and is it an issue that has impact as a campaign issue in the next election. For Watergate, the answer is unquestionably yes. For Monica-gate, the answer is also pretty clearly yes.
Iran-Contra appears to answer the questions with a no, especially at the time of the scandal. The operation seemed to be completely under the control of CIA Director Casey, NSA Poindexter, and Oliver North. Neither the hearings nor pundits such as in Jane Mayer and Doyle McManus' book (Landslide: The Unmaking of the President) were able to find a link to Reagan. As a result Dukakis never pushed the issue in his campaign, and it had little impact in the 1988 election.
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