Unacceptable Things

"I know they are just young girls and I know they weren't thinking that clearly, but they said unacceptable things about their president[.]" -- Jerry Falwell, April 28, 2003

Despite being widely discredited, "The Clinton Chronicles," which contained all the lurid anti-Clinton allegations of cocaine trafficking and murder, was an effective piece of propaganda. With its sophisticated production and its adept film editing, the video imitates the style of an evening news program or television documentary. The video ends with former Republican Rep. William Dannemeyer urging that President Clinton be impeached, while a message flashes across the screen warning: "If any additional harm comes to anyone connected to this film or their families, the people of America will hold Bill Clinton personally responsible."....

The video's commercial success is due in large part to its promotion on Falwell's "Old Time Gospel Hour," as well as in an infomercial for the video, which viewers could order through Falwell's Liberty Alliance.

During the infomercial, Falwell interviews a silhouetted individual whom he identifies only as an "investigative reporter."

"Could you please tell me and the American people why you think that your life and the lives of the others on this video are in danger?" Falwell asks the man. ....

During Salon's interview with Matrisciana, a reporter told him that his voice sounded familiar. When the reporter told Matrisciana that he sounded like the man in silhouette, Matrisciana acknowledged that he was the mystery man.

"Obviously, I'm not an investigative reporter," Matrisciana admitted, "and I doubt our lives were actually ever in any real danger. That was Jerry's idea to do that ... He thought that would be dramatic." -- Salon.com