Lewinsky gets, then loses job offer

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new political group that is trying to get a woman elected as U.S. president or vice president offered former White House intern Monica Lewinsky a top job Tuesday, but quickly withdrew the offer after it prompted a firestorm of controversy.

Mosemarie Boyd, president and CEO of American Women Presidents, announced the group's decision to offer Lewinsky -- the woman at the center of the sex scandal that shook President Clinton's presidency -- a job as its corporate vice president in a statement.

"After 2.5 years of public interrogation and national humiliation, we believe it is time for America to forgive Monica," the group said in its release, underscoring its mission to get more women elected to top U.S. political offices.

The group attached a letter to Lewinsky's attorney, Plato Cacheris, outlining its offer.

But sources said various women's groups and others wasted no time responding to the Sacramento, California-based non-profit political organization, calling its offer to make Lewinsky their spokeswoman a big mistake.

Within hours, the group changed its mind and sent a followup letter to Lewinsky withdrawing its offer and apologizing for any inconvenience.

"There was widespread concern about the decision to offer our vice presidency to Monica, and due to concern about the credibility of the organization, we decided it was better to withdraw the offer," Boyd told Reuters.

Some women's groups apparently expressed concern that giving Lewinsky a high-visibility role could jeopardize the prospects for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore, who has sought to distance himself from Clinton.

Gore pulled ahead of Republican rival Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the polls this week after declaring his independence from Clinton at the Democratic National Convention last week.

Boyd, who has worked for California Gov. Gray Davis, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and several Democratic lawmakers in the House, said she had hoped Lewinsky could help promote the group's mission, but "miscalculated the resentment" against the former White House intern.

At the start of the year Lewinsky signed on as a spokeswoman for the diet center chain Jenny Craig, but the group had dropped her from its advertising campaign by April.

American Women Presidents was formed in March 2000 to push for women candidates as vice president and president. The group was heavily promoting former Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole and Feinstein as vice presidential candidates for the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively.

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