Hillary Clinton

===Response to Lewinsky scandal===
{{Further|Clinton–Lewinsky scandal}}

In 1998, the Clintons' private concerns became the subject of much speculation when investigations revealed the president had engaged in an extramarital affair with 22-year-old White House intern [[Monica Lewinsky]].<ref>Troy 2006, pp.&nbsp;176–77.</ref> Events surrounding the [[Lewinsky scandal]] eventually led to the [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeachment]] of the president by the House of Representatives; he was later acquitted by the Senate. When the allegations against her husband were first made public, Hillary Clinton stated that the allegations were part of a "[[vast right-wing conspiracy]]".<ref>Troy 2006, p.&nbsp;183.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Grant |first1=Philippe R.|editor1-last=Knight|editor1-first=Peter |title=Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia |url=https://archive.org/details/conspiracytheori00knig_851 |url-access=limited |date=2003 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1576078129 |page=[https://archive.org/details/conspiracytheori00knig_851/page/n194 177] |quote=Concerned by the many conspiracy theories involving her husband, [she] claimed&nbsp;... there was a 'vast right-wing conspiracy' to undermine their credibility.}}</ref> Clinton characterized the Lewinsky charges as the latest in a long, organized, collaborative series of charges by Bill's political enemies{{efn|Clinton was referring to the [[Arkansas Project]] and its funder [[Richard Mellon Scaife]], Kenneth Starr's connections to Scaife, [[Regnery Publishing]] and its connections to [[Lucianne Goldberg]] and [[Linda Tripp]], [[Jerry Falwell]], and others.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/02/02/time/kirn.html |title=Persecuted or Paranoid? A look at the motley characters behind Hillary Clinton's 'vast right-wing conspiracy' |author=Kirn, Walter |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=February 9, 1998 |author-link=Walter Kirn}}</ref>}} rather than any wrongdoing by her husband. She later said she had been misled by her husband's initial claims that no affair had taken place.<ref>Troy 2006, p.&nbsp;187.</ref> After the evidence of President Clinton's encounters with Lewinsky became incontrovertible, she issued a public statement reaffirming her commitment to their marriage. Privately, she was reported to be furious at him and was unsure if she wanted to remain in the marriage.{{sfn|Bernstein|2007|pp=512, 517–18, 521}} The White House residence staff noticed a pronounced level of tension between the couple during this period.<ref>Brower 2015, pp. 141–49.</ref>

Public response to Clinton's handling of the matter varied. Women variously admired her strength and poise in private matters that were made public. They sympathized with her as a victim of her husband's insensitive behavior and criticized her as being an [[Codependency|enabler]] to her husband's indiscretions. They also accused her of cynically staying in a failed marriage as a way of keeping or even fostering her own political influence.{{sfn|Gerth|Van Natta|2007|p=195}} In the wake of the revelations, her public approval ratings shot upward to around 70&nbsp;percent, the highest they had ever been.{{sfn|Gerth|Van Natta|2007|p=195}}