October 1998

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October 1998 was the month when the Clinton impeachment crisis went from “serious trouble” to “full-blown constitutional emergency.”
The House had just voted to launch a formal impeachment inquiry (Oct 8), Kenneth Starr’s explicit report was still fresh in the public mind, and the midterm elections were only four weeks away. The Clinton administration and Democrats spent the entire month in aggressive damage-control and counter-attack mode.Key Events and Clinton/Democratic Activities – October 1998Date
Event
Clinton Administration & Democratic Response
Oct 5
House votes 258–176 to open formal impeachment inquiry (31 Democrats vote yes)
White House calls it “partisan abuse of power”; begins daily war-room operations.
Oct 8
Official start of House Judiciary Committee impeachment inquiry
Henry Hyde (R) chairs; John Conyers (D) ranking member. Democrats demand narrow scope limited to Lewinsky matter only.
Oct 9
Clinton makes public apology at White House prayer breakfast
“I have sinned” speech – widely praised, designed to blunt moral outrage.
Mid-Oct
Release of Clinton’s videotaped grand-jury testimony (Aug 17)
4-hour tape aired nationally. Democrats say it shows Clinton was truthful; Republicans highlight parsing of words.
Oct 19–20
Secret Service officers (Lewinsky detail) testify before grand jury
Democrats decry invasion of privacy and “fishing expedition.”
Late Oct
Democratic polling shows Clinton’s job approval still ~65%; personal approval lower
Strategy crystallizes: Separate “private conduct” from “public performance.” Theme: “Everyone hates what he did, but loves the job he’s doing.”
Oct 27
Clinton signs the Iraq Liberation Act (making regime change official U.S. policy)
Prepares ground for possible December military action (Desert Fox).
Throughout Oct
Heavy Democratic ad spending in midterm races tying GOP candidates to “extremism” and “obsession with sex”
James Carville runs “Project Protect” rapid-response from the DNC.

Core Democratic/White House Strategy in October 1998“Define the election as a referendum on impeachment overreach”
Dick Gephardt and the DCCC flooded swing districts with ads asking: “Had enough of the politics of personal destruction?”
Aggressive defense in Judiciary Committee
Democratic members (Barney Frank, Zoe Lofgren, Maxine Waters, Howard Berman, etc.) used every hearing to attack Starr’s tactics, leaks, and funding from conservative groups (Richard Mellon Scaife, etc.).
Censure as the exit ramp
By mid-October, Tom Daschle and moderate Democrats began openly floating censure + reprimand as the “fair” punishment. This became the party’s unified alternative.
Keep Clinton visibly presidential
Despite the crisis, Clinton held multiple bill-signing ceremonies, campaigned almost daily for Democratic candidates, and maintained a brutal public schedule to project normalcy.

Tone Inside the White House (October 1998)Daily 7:30 a.m. senior staff meetings became impeachment war councils.
Legal team (Charles Ruff, Greg Craig, David Kendall, Cheryl Mills) worked around the clock preparing responses to Judiciary Committee document requests.
Political team (John Podesta, Rahm Emanuel, Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal) coordinated messaging with Hill Democrats and outside surrogates.
Mood swung between defiance (“We’re going to beat this”) and exhaustion.

Public Democratic Messaging (October soundbites that dominated)“This is about a President who lied about sex — not about bribery, treason, or abuse of power.”
“The American people want us to work on Social Security, education, and patients’ bill of rights — not on Ken Starr’s sex police.”
“If you want to send a message to Newt Gingrich and the extremists, vote Democratic on November 3.”

By the end of October 1998, Democrats were cautiously optimistic: internal polling showed the public hated the impeachment process more than they disliked Clinton’s behavior, and the midterm map looked surprisingly good. That optimism proved justified when Democrats actually gained House seats on Nov 3 — an almost unprecedented result for the party controlling the White House.In summary: October 1998 was the month Democrats stopped apologizing and went on total offensive, betting everything on the argument that the GOP had gone too far. It worked politically (midterms) but did not stop the impeachment train that rolled into November and December.

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