The Eaton Affair & Monicagate
Peggy O'Neill Timberlake was the daughter of a Washington tavern keeper and the wife of John Tmberlake, a U.S.navy purser. After her husband's death, Peggy married U.S. Senator John Henry Eaton in 1829. The wives of other cabinet members opted not to associate themselves with her because she and John Eaton had allegedly been intimate before their marriage and Peggy's impoverished beginnings. President Jackson's attempts to gain her a place among the other women caused an uproar in the cabinet and destroyed political alliances.
At the center of the controversy were John C. Calhoun, his wife Floride, the Eatons, President Jackson and wife Rachel. Floride Calhoun, along with her husband and several other cabinet wives, managed to isolate and separate the Eatons from the rest of upper-class society. The Calhouns also targeted the president's wife Rachel, citing that Rachel married the president before her divorce from her first husband was finalized. President Jackson attributed these malicious acts to Rachel's death in 1828, and replaced Calhoun with Martin Van Buren as his vice president in the election of 1832. He also forced five of six cabinet members to resign in 1831 for jumping on the Calhoun bandwagon. The sensationalized scandal caused most Americans to identify the presence of Margaret Eaton as the cause.
A similar story broke out in 1997. President Clinton had been accused of engaging in sexual activities with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. The press, led by Kenneth Starr, sensationalized the story portrayed President Clinton as a power-hungry sex fiend with no moral values. For nearly two years, The Clinton family and Lewinsky were criticized and scrutinized for insignificant and often unrelated matters. In 1998, Kenneth Starr led the angry townspeople in an "impeach Clinton" campaign that almost cost Clinton the presidency.
The American public eventually forgave The President, but did not forget what had happened. From 1998 to the end of his term in January 2000, Bill Clinton and everyone associated with him were ridiculed and criticized for every move they made. Clinton was also held responsible by many for the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The general feeling was that if the Clinton Administration had pursued and captured Osama bin Laden and other members of his terrorist network, the World Trade Center would still be standing.
