From Bill Clinton to David Letterman – The Lust for Fresh Young Interns

What is it with old, powerful men and fresh young interns? From President Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky affair and now David Letterman and all those in between. Interns, male or female appear to be easy victims for older men who can’t seem to keep their zippers up.

As parents you send your children to college for a higher education and a better life. Internship is part of their educational experience, as they compete with others for a slice of the pie in the highly competitive world of work. You celebrate their successes and hope that a stint  in the White House or on a late show would be enough to secure their futures in the highly competitive fields of their choosing. You probably didn’t expect that they would become concubines of sort to the men who wield power and control over their futures. 

Did you ever imagine that there would be old, men lurking in the shadows luring your children to their beds? Furthermore, are we surprised that today, powerful women are quick to defend the actions of these men? It was shocking to watch The View and Barbra Walters’ valiant attempts to defend the honor of David Letterman, by stressing the point that no one complained of sexual harassment. Well, not yet anyway. Thank goodness for guest host Lisa Ling who was the only one on the panel with any backbone to question to David letterman’s actions.

Is it true that David Letterman’s ratings have gone up since his less than serious admission of sleeping with interns? Is this a surprise to anyone? But while his show may draw many curiosity seekers initially, the question now is whether or not his regular audience can stand to watch the show without visualizing a guy who was old enough to be the father or grandfather of girls he exercised influence and power over, using them for his own sexual fulfillment.

In the meantime, he had a long term relationship with another women to whom he is now married and share a child. He decided to apologize publicly to his wife for having illicit affairs with his female staff days afterrevealing his deep, dark secret. David Letterman has been applauded for coming forward, but the reality is, he had no choice.  

Yes one can argue that David Letterman had consensual sex with his female staff.  But was there an abuse of power? When there is unequal power relationships, there is always the question of abuse of power as far as sexual relationships are concerned. Could these women have said “no” to Letterman? Sure they could? Would it have negatively affected their positions if they did? Sure it could have. If you were in their positions would you have dared say “no” to the great man who practically held your future in his hands? Probably not!