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The clinton phenomenon creates conflict in those who observe it or engage in it. At first, one needs to overcome some cultural barrier. From the Czech perspective, it seems to be strange to set up a persecuting institution against the president. Czechs are not very eager to publicize the private sexual matters of representatives of the state. For instance, today it is known that the first president of Czechoslovakia, T. G. Masaryk, had mistresses until his very old age. These facts were and still are hidden with help of archives and their directors. The uncomfortable feelings that would spread if this were to be uncovered are part of conventional morality. Therefore, Clinton's case was observed in the Czech Republic with restraint. Although the attraction of uncovering primal scenes seems to be natural, some sublimated versions of this attraction into ordinary curiosity regulated by cultural values are generally preferred, and even more common. But the border between “perverse” and “normal” is not today so sharply marked.
Clinton is not an analytic case; therefore, he can be assessed only as “the Clinton phenomenon,” and his self-destructive behaviors belong to some other realm. The discovery and publication of his sexual adventures reveal him as an ordinary man, but at the same time the question arises about what we consciously and unconsciously expect from a powerful authority in the highest position. In ancient times, kings were close to gods; they were idealized as protectors and feared as persecutors. Some strong parental roles were delegated to them from those below. In democracy, all “kings” are far from gods, and they are not felt to be almighty, but still some parental protective and persecuting functions are projected onto them, together with some idealization that also involves desexualization.