Until Monicagate, the chief evidence for this malaise lay in falling voter turnout, relentless anti-Washington rhetoric spouted by political candidates, and polls suggesting that trust in government was at an all-time low.

• ，到莫拟卡门事件发生时，这种不满情绪主要表现为投票的选民减少，政治候选人喋喋不休地发表反华盛顿言论，民意测验显示出对政府地信任降到空前的低点。