--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What do you have to forget or overlook in…" description: "\"“What do you have to forget or overlook in order to desire that this dysfunctional clan once more occupies the White House and is again in a position t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/christopher-hitchens-117_2008_what-do-you-have-to-forget-or-overlook-i_2742838.jpg" --- # What do you have to forget or overlook in order to desire… ![“What do you have to forget or overlook in order to desire that this dysfunctional clan once more occupies the White House and is again in a position to rent the Lincoln Bedroom to campaign donors and to employ the Oval Office as a massage parlor? You have to be able to forget, first, what happened…” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/christopher-hitchens-117_2008_what-do-you-have-to-forget-or-overlook-i_2742838.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/christopher-hitchens-117_2008_what-do-you-have-to-forget-or-overlook-i_2742838.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c92/christopher-hitchens-117_2008_what-do-you-have-to-forget-or-overlook-i_2742838.jpg) > ““What do you have to forget or overlook in order to desire that this dysfunctional clan once more occupies the White House and is again in a position to rent the Lincoln Bedroom to campaign donors and to employ the Oval Office as a massage parlor? You have to be able to forget, first, what happened to those who complained, or who told the truth, last time. It's often said, by people trying to show how grown-up and unshocked they are, that all Clinton did to get himself impeached was lie about sex. That's not really true. What he actually lied about, in the perjury that also got him disbarred , was the women . And what this involved was a steady campaign of defamation, backed up by private dicks (you should excuse the expression) and salaried government employees, against women who I believe were telling the truth. In my opinion, Gennifer Flowers was telling the truth; so was Monica Lewinsky, and so was Kathleen Willey, and so, lest we forget, was Juanita Broaddrick, the woman who says she was raped by Bill Clinton. (For the full background on this, see the chapter 'Is There a Rapist in the Oval Office?' in the paperback version of my book No One Left To Lie To . This essay, I may modestly say, has never been challenged by anybody in the fabled Clinton 'rapid response' team.) Yet one constantly reads that both Clintons, including the female who helped intensify the slanders against her mistreated sisters, are excellent on women's 'issues.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that political loyalty requires ignoring serious wrongdoing, especially sexual misconduct, to maintain power. **In simple terms:** Power demands forgetting crimes. Key Takeaway Question power over truth. Themes politics sex scandals media accountability gender Mood critical skeptical Type political expository When to use this quote - elections - campaign strategy - journalistic investigation - legal accountability Key Concepts misinformation defamation institutional abuse Questions to Reflect On - How does selective memory shape democracy? - What responsibilities do voters have? A Different Perspective The claim that only sex lies mattered overlooks deeper crimes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corruption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corruption/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Lest we forget](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lest-we-forget/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Oval office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oval-office/) [Perjury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perjury/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rape](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rape/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sleaze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sleaze/) [Telling the truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/telling-the-truth/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [White house](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-house/) ## Related quotes > [“On page 607, alluding to the end of my first marriage (and carefully remembering to state that that's none of his business), he very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/on-page-607-alluding-to-the-end-of-my-first-marriage-and-carefully/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I think you know and I've said it pretty loud and clear that I get along with all politicians. 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Bush as treating the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/mrs-clinton-speaking-to-a-black-church-audience-on-martin-luther-king/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Hillary Clinton is as qualified or more qualified than I am to be vice president of the United States of America. 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