Inside the Beltway: Monica Lewinsky to America: ‘Here we go’

NEWS AND OPINION:

She has become a media presence. That would be Monica Lewinsky, who has shed her previous public identity as the White House intern who had a dalliance with former President Clinton in favor of a 41-year-old with serious press credentials. She is now a columnist for Vanity Fair, a public speaker and a social media wrangler. Miss Lewinsky joined Twitter on Monday and secured 34,000 followers in the space of three hours — not bad, considering she tweeted only twice, noting “excited and nervous” and “here we go.” But she had much to say in a speech chastising online harassment before 1,000 young entrepreneurs on Monday at an event organized by Forbes magazine. To the curious: Miss Lewinsky is represented by All America Speakers, a talent bureau that represents hundreds of luminaries ranging from Al Pacino and Jesse Jackson to such political analysts as Pat Buchanan and Charles Krauthammer. The organization does not disclose Miss Lewinsky’s fee, nor do they represent either Mr. Clinton or Hillary Clinton — who both earn a reported $250,000 a speech. All that said, Miss Lewinsky held her own during her speech, and managed to get some 12,000 press mentions before the day was through, according to a Google News count.

“My name is Monica Lewinsky. Though I have often been advised to change it, or asked why on earth I haven’t — but, there we are. I haven’t. I am still Monica Lewinsky,” she told her audience, recalling the moment she “fell in love with her boss” and became part of history.

“Overnight, I went from being a completely private figure to a publicly humiliated one. I was Patient Zero. The first person to have their reputation completely destroyed worldwide via the Internet,” Miss Lewinsky noted before calling for a revolution.

“Actually, what we really need is a cultural revolution. Online, we’ve got a compassion deficit an empathy crisis — and something tells me that matters a lot more to most of us.”

EBOLA SPAWNS COMMON SENSE REPUBLICANS

“Common sense travel restrictions.” That is how Sen. Marco Rubio’s frames his proposed legislation to create a temporary ban on new visas for residents of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone seeking to enter the U.S. The ban would be lifted once the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention certified that the Ebola outbreak has been contained; the Florida Republican plans to introduce his ideas when Congress returns after Nov. 4.

“This ban on issuance of visas does not mean we will be completely cutting off the affected countries from the outside world,” he says. “We must continue to increase our assistance to those countries as they struggle to contain this outbreak.”

Not to be outdone, Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican and chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has announced he’ll stage a hearing Friday morning titled (drum roll please) “The Ebola Crisis: Coordination of a Multi-Agency Response.” Interesting to note that the motto of Mr. Issa’s committee is “Blow the whistle on fraud and abuse”.

MR. CHRISTIE GOES TO WASHINGTON — AND IOWA

With “Bridgegate” far behind him, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie visited Kansas and Colorado on Monday, before heading to Maryland, Illinois, Michigan and Iowa — all campaign trips for gubernatorial candidates made on behalf of the Republican Governors Association. On Tuesday, Mr. Christie will stump in Bethesda, Maryland, with Larry Hogan, the suprisingly competitive GOP gubernatorial candidate in heavily-Blue Maryland, before venturing into the nation’s capital.

Mr. Christie is the keynote speaker at a U.S. Chamber of Commerce symposium on legal reform — which at least has a Christie-esque title: “The Enforcement “Collidescope: The New Litigation Paradigm”. On the agenda: duplicative and overlapping civil enforcement and the outsourcing of public powers to private parties, among many things.

And about that trip to Iowa. It marks Mr. Christie’s third visit to the Hawkeye State, and a definite opportunity for the governor to strike a presidential pose or two. He’ll be hurrying out to the Hawkeye State at week’s end to help Gov. Terry Branstad’s celebrate his 68th birthday at a decidedly down-home event in the town of Clive, just northwest of Des Moines. “Music, speeches, dinner, birthday cake,” the Iowa Republican Party advises about the event. “Fun for the whole family.”

A TONY BLANKLEY MOMENT

Those who recall the civil discourse, good humor and monumental intellect of the late Tony Blankley should know that his family has donated his substantial book collection to Hillsdale College. Part two: Under the auspices of The Steamboat Institute, National Review, Newt and Callista Gingrich, opinion guru John McLaughlin, Blankley’s widow Lynda Davis and Thomas P. McDevitt, chairman of the Washington Times, Blankley will be remembered with much ado and affection.

Tom Rogan — a political columnist and frequent broadcast commentator — has been named the inaugural winner of “The Tony Blankley Chair for Public Policy & American Exceptionalism,” an academic fellowship which provides support for emerging conservative scholars. He’ll be honored at an event Tuesday evening in the nation’s capital, which includes some grand speechifying and tour of the aforementioned collection.

“I am personally aware of the United states and the intrinsic importance of American exceptionalism. America is a nation that is indispensible. There should be no doubt that America has always been a force for good,” Mr. Rogan said, on being named a Blankley scholar.

Tony Blankley was editorial page editor for the Washington Times; the Colorado-based Steamboat Institute is an educational organization rooted in founding principles, lower taxes and limited government, individual liberty and strong national defense.

NOT OVERLOOKED

“When we give our daughters and sons a foundation of integrity, hard work, and responsibility, and when we empower them with the courage to choose these values in the face of cynicism, we prepare them for a lifetime of engaged citizenship and create stronger communities across America. This week, and all year long, let us all do our part to ensure the fundamental tenets that have shaped our Union from its founding continue to sustain us and draw out the best in each of us.”

— President Obama, in an official proclamation recognizing National Character Counts Week, which amazingly enough, began Monday.

SCOTT VS CRIST, ROUND ONE

There’s already been plenty melodrama and contention in the Florida gubernatorial race. There might as well be some more. Find out Tuesday night when CNN’s chief Washington correspondent and he-man anchor Jake Tapper moderates a mano au mano debate between Republican incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic challenger Charlie Crist. The two disagreed about a fan placed on the podium during another debate last week; perhaps a microphone or bottled water could set them off this time.

Things get underway on the CNN at 7 p.m. ET; viewers can weigh in via an “online focus group tool” courtesy of Microsoft’s Bing Pulse, which will reveal independent, Democrat and Republican reaction to the gentleman’s, uh, encounter — underlining highs and lows and which topics resonated most with viewers.

POLL DU JOUR

64 percent of Americans agree that “things in the U.S. feel like they are out of control right now.”

58 percent say U.S. military action should be limited to direct threats to the nation.

50 percent are pessimistic about their outlook on the U.S.; 49 percent are optimistic.

36 percent are confident that U.S. can meet its economic and national security challenges.

38 percent say President George W. Bush was more effective managing the federal government; 35 percent say President Obama is more effective.

27 percent agree that as the “world’s moral leader” the U.S. must use the military to protect democracy around the globe.

Source: A Politico poll of 840 likely U.S. voters conducted Oct. 3-11 and released Monday.

Common sense, faulty speculations to jharper@washingtontimes.com.