The concept of an apologetic president has only recently emerged in the United States. All presidents have made mistakes, but only recently have Americans come to expect apologies from them. The development of an increasingly critical media has necessitated that future presidents hone the art of apologizing. This thesis extrapolates lessons in this skill from the apologies of Presidents Nixon and Clinton. Watergate and Lewinsky-gate were cover-up scandals that rocked the nation in the 1970s and '90s. Although the presidential misconduct in both cases were similar, the way each president opted to navigate his controversy differed dramatically. Both presidents initially tried out the tactic of denying all accusations but branched off after taking that step. A comparison of their approaches offers insight into the possible ways of seeking forgiveness from a scorned public. The nuances of delivering a successful apology are dictated by circumstantial, structural factors as well as the personality of the president, which explains why no two apologies are the same. Although the art of apologizing will continue to evolve over time, future presidents stand to learn a great deal from studying Nixon and Clinton. This thesis finds that even though Americans get a certain degree of satisfaction from exposing presidential wrongdoing and making life more than uncomfortable for a wayward executive, the legacies of Nixon and Clinton are proof that a smattering of mistakes cannot completely overshadow a tradition of accomplishments. No matter how vindictive Americans may appear to be in the thick of a scandal, in the long run, the United States is a forgiving nation.

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Yes / We examine links between factual recall, emotion and constructions of normativity in narrative accounts, using as an empirical case President Clinton's descriptions of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. We analyse those accounts in the sequences of talk in which they occurred, under Grand Jury cross-examination. Clinton's accounts of Lewinsky were part of how he attended to issues alive in court concerning himself, including his possible exploitation and abuse of power in an asymmetrical relationship; his motives, sincerity, credibility and intentions; and, indirectly, his fitness for office as President. Analysis focuses on how Clinton's portrayal of Lewinsky accomplished a reflexive portrayal of himself, not as mendacious and exploitative, but as caring, responsible, sincere, rational and consistent, while reducing the scope and implications of their admitted sexual relationship. This study is linked to a broader discursive psychology of factual description, memory, mental and emotional states, and their relevance to the larger business of institutional settings.

This thesis analyzes President William Jefferson Clinton's self-defense during the first four months of 1998. The study focuses on Clinton's denial of the sex scandal with White House intern Monica Lewinsky when the story broke out in the Washington Post on January 21, 1998. William L. Benoit's theory of Image Restoration is used to examine each strategy's distribution. Benoit's framework consists of identifying strategies used by denial to clarify and repair a positive image despite negative public accusations.The study employed a content analysis as the research methodology. There were a total of 1,392 sentences contained in twenty-four articles from the Washington Post, only articlesfrom the Post were included in the initial search. Research was conducted using microfilm of the Washington Post full-text articles during the time period of interest: January 21, 1998 to April 20, 1998. The dependent variables were the number of sentences devoted to the amount of the Washington Post coverage given to the strategies utilized by Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Clinton's staff, Clinton' s lawyer, Clinton's friends, the media, Al Gore, and the Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the sentences were coded on the basis of image restoration theory and strategy categories defined by Benoit.The data showed the strategy of denial was employed at the highest rate among all strategies during the three selected time periods. Specifically, the denial strategy was used the most frequently with 348 quotations (25%). In the short run, Clinton's popularity among followers was not damaged, but in the long run, he faced impeachment proceedings. Therefore, the strategy of denial is not always a clarification action. This study indicates that the strategy of denial merely complicates and prolongs the whole process; therefore twisting Benoit's original definition. / Department of Journalism