An Inclusive Litany

3/19/98

There have been many fallback positions, and this is one of them—the Packwood gambit. Lynda Gorov in the Boston Globe, March 19, 1998:
They are dismayed, of course. Disgusted even. But many women across America continue to stand by President Clinton, saying that at least he seems to understand that no means no.

Even as they shared their own stories of sexual harassment in the workplace, the women who made passes from men who are predators. Even in the worst version, they noted, Clinton backed off when refused by his accusers, behavior that marks him as clumsy and crude, but also sets him apart from executives who continue to prey on or penalize women who reject them.

"It's reality, and we shouldn't expect Clinton to be any different," said Susan Nassberg, a marketing and advertising executive in Los Angeles. "Right now it's 'he said, she said,' and God knows if we're ever going to get to the truth. But the bottom line is: If someone says no, it's no, and Clinton seems to get that. These women's careers don't seem to have been hurt because of it."