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Tuesday, February 17, 1998 By Tony Norman
I'm making a big deal out of this only because it's Black History Month, but I hope I'm not alone in noticing that black people are all over this Clinton scandal, to mix my metaphors, like white on rice.
Oh, sure, we've had our share of national embarrassments over the years, but nothing ever resonated on as many levels as this Monica Lewinsky business with its large, multi-racial cast.
And while it's true black folks aren't represented among the first circle of principal players, we've bagged some of the juicier supporting roles in the most sordid political scandal to come around since, well, Watergate.
And let's face it, Watergate was a white man's scandal. The best Watergate could do for the cause of diversity was the black security guard who caught G. Gordon Liddy's operatives in the act, a motley crew that contained some Cuban expatriates. Besides that, every single player in Watergate was descended from the hardiest, Constitution-shredding Anglo-Saxon stock.
Now, fast forward 26 years and it's clear that we, to quote the last verse of an immortal '70s black sitcom theme song, "finally got our piece of the pie."
Turn on CNN these days and you'll see presidential consigliere Vernon Jordan, doing his coolest Robert Guillaume imitation in front of a bank of microphones, denying he knows anything about suborning perjury.
While Jordan's delivery isn't the most riveting performance on television these days, black folks appreciate the fact he hasn't rolled over on his homie, Bill Clinton, to save his own hide.
Then there's Betty Currie, the president's private secretary. Our first glimpse was admittedly a pitiful one. Who can forget the sight of the dimunitive Currie, flanked by her lawyers as a mob of photographers and reporters mercilessly jostled her for a quote and a clean shot of her mortified face.
Some folks have called Currie the Rosa Parks of the scandal, going as far as to suggest her principled loyalty to the president provides this drama with the only moral center it's got. But instead of Rosa Parks, Currie reminds me of the little black girl in Norman Rockwell's painting flanked by National Guard soldiers as she tries to integrate some Little Rock school.
Then there's Billy Martin from Sewickley, the lawyer accompanying and advising Marcia Lewis at the grand jury hearings probing her daughter's relationship with the president.
And wasn't that a brother we saw standing behind Ken Starr last week as he denied charges his office leaked testimony to the press? If Starr is feeling the pressure to make his inquisition team look a little more like America, then we'll eventually have to give him props, too.
But as sad as the scandal is, at least we're better represented in "Fornigate" than we are in this year's Academy Awards balloting. Still, it's not like CNN is in danger of looking like the WB network, even with the influx of strong black supporting characters.
To his credit, Clinton has been good about recruiting black talent with the unenviable knack for getting indicted with the best of their white colleagues. Check out former Agriculture Secretary Mike Espy. Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary is also under an ethical cloud.
Former Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders was chased from office for having the temerity to suggest masturbation as an alternative to premarital, underage sex.
Dr. Henry Foster has to be doing cartwheels about not being confirmed by the Senate to become Elders' replacement. Last week, Dr. David Satcher, another black man, stepped into the role.
Then there's the late, ethically impaired Labor Secretary Ron Brown, dead in a plane crash in Croatia. And if the Tribune Review is to be believed, shot in the head by an agent.
Last week while flipping around the dial, I came across a special Black History Month presentation of "Gone With the Wind," the 1939 tear-jerker about Confederate honor and mint julips that launched Hattie "Mammy" McDaniel into the domestics' hall of fame.
As usual, I clenched my teeth through the part where Scarlett O'Hara tells Butterfly McQueen to "hush," praying that the days of forced marginalization in Hollywood and Washington are behind us.
Though it may not be the most appropriate time to do this, I just want to thank Bill Clinton for integrating his various scandals and miscalculations with so many black folks. Thanks to you, we've come a long way, baby.
Tony Norman's email is: tnorman@post-gazette.com
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