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Sunday, March 14, 1999 By Barbara Cloud, Post-Gazette Columnist
Am I too late to offer a little lip service here?
Everybody in the world has had his or her opinion of "that woman" from Beverly Hills, but I must add my own shallow observation to the interview with Barbara Walters.
Why? Because I am obviously one of you.
Do not mistake me with the "I am you" remark of Linda Tripp. No, no.
I am everyman, or everywoman, because I, too, could not take my eyes off Monica's lips during the entire two hours.
I tried to listen to what she was saying, I truly did, but while Ms. Walters' lips also glistened with gloss, the lips of Ms. Lewinsky had me glued to her face.
I read that ABC phone lines were deluged with callers wanting to know what shade of lipstick it was. (To those who care: Her lipstick color was Club Monaco's glaze, and her lip liner was nude.)
I didn't go so far as to call ABC, but I was mesmerized. Her lips glistened under the gels.
We are in deep goo-goo here. This is history in the making, and we are fascinated with a lip gloss?
In so many ways it bears out our disinterest in affairs of state, even affairs with statesmen.
Many of you said, "Get me that lipstick shade. I want to shimmer and shine just like that."
And I'm right there with you.
People might argue about the importance of appearance or the impact of presentation, but I can tell you from where I sat this was a brilliant marketing job and a brilliant makeover.
Besides the fact that the camera was hooked on her face, the better to catch the upward and downward casts of her nicely under-shadowed eyes, I was aware of the change from her obvious Clara Bowish and less moist lips during her taped Senate appearance. Were you?
Different lips for different folks?
There are "people" moving her through this, you know. In the end, she has to speak for herself, as she did to the Senate and to 74 million viewers on the Walters' show, but the whole thing has been so cleverly manipulated, I have to give even more credit to the power of presentation.
I hope we all realize we are being played.
Through the glistening lip gloss, her giggles and downcast eyes, she performed and got (some) rave reviews, which is what she has always wanted. To help her self-esteem.
This poor child has had a terrible life in plush Beverly Hills. If she had to take jabs at Mrs. Clinton and insult Chelsea with her suggested kinship, have an abortion and disrupt the country for over a year, that's the price of gaining self-esteem.
It was "fun," she said.
There could be more fun ahead. Perhaps a job on TV and, I am sure, acting stints on a variety of shows, even movies, and lots of money for appearances, the book and, just maybe, a cosmetic line to call her own.
It could be called Self-Esteem.
No one can absolve President Clinton of wrongdoing, but Monica is a spoiled brat. She's also an actress. Surely you could see the performance, and it was a good one, in which she used all the tricks she learned while seeking attention in her high school plays.
She just added lip gloss.
I think what her people wanted to happen did happen. She set out to sell that stupid book which, by the way, features a cover photo that does the airbrush proud. And she succeeded.
She's a pretty thing, sort of. The makeup experts took advantage of what they had to work with, and they earned their stripes.
The giggles and the total lack of recognizing how morally wrong her own conduct was, however, couldn't be glossed over.
It's an American tragedy, shiny and new.
"Read my lips" has taken on new meaning.
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