Just when you thought that so-called “Reality TV” programs couldn’t possibly get any worse, along comes the Fox network and its new program, “Mr. Personality,” hosted by none other than Monica Lewinsky.

“Mr. Personality” features a beautiful young woman courted by 10 eligible bachelors. The hook is that each suitor must wear a mask and rely solely upon his personality to win her affection. As the series progresses the beautiful woman is supposed to narrow the field of masked men to one winner.

If that isn’t boorish enough, Lewinsky’s role in the program is to serve as the woman’s confidant, presumably offering advice about dating, relationships, and what to look for in a man … as if she ought to know. It is hard to imagine what the producers of “Mr. Personality” were thinking when they selected Lewinsky, who has become the butt of endless jokes since her days at the White House. It’s not like her track record as a romance expert is anything to write home about. Let’s see … two sordid affairs with married men – the president and her high school drama teacher, both of whom dropped her like a hot rock as soon as their affairs with her became known.

The only explanation of her TV role that makes any sense is the Fox producers must have wanted Lewinsky for shock value, banking on the public’s appetite for the sensational. That seems to be standard operating procedure for this new television genre.

More pathetic and disgusting is the message that the Fox network seems to be sending to young women everywhere – that the way to get ahead in life is to behave like Monica Lewinsky.

– Rick Swart, publisher, Wallowa County Chieftain in Enterprise