Politics & Power Quote by George Stephanopoulos

Stephanopoulos is doing a careful kind of moral triage: yes, Clinton’s conduct was degrading, but the presidency shouldn’t be treated like a reality-show casting call where a scandal triggers an automatic ejection. The line is engineered to sound principled rather than protective. It separates the man from the institution, then uses that distinction to argue for restraint while still conceding disgust.

The word choice matters. “Debased” is a sharp, almost physical verb, implying contamination and self-inflicted corrosion. He applies it first to Clinton, satisfying the public’s appetite for condemnation. Then he pivots: “we shouldn’t debase the office,” quietly shifting responsibility onto the audience and political class. Now the risk isn’t merely a president’s private failings; it’s the country’s collective impulse to convert outrage into a constitutional reflex.

“Impulsive overreaction” is the tell. It frames resignation not as accountability but as hysteria, a move that would cheapen the office by making it too responsive to scandal cycles and partisan pressure. Coming from Stephanopoulos - a Clinton insider turned media figure - the subtext is also reputational self-defense: preserve the presidency as a stabilizing symbol, and you preserve the legitimacy of the people who built their careers around it.

In the late-90s impeachment context, the quote functions like a pressure valve. It grants moral clarity while arguing against political escalation, translating a crisis of character into a test of institutional maturity.