Although many people were probably tired of the millennium mania even before Dec. 31 rolled around, the American people should be thankful that was the biggest and most-hyped story of 1999. After all, just remember what the headlines were last year.

It may have seemed like the Clinton sex scandal (the one that involved a 20-something intern, to avoid confusion) would never go away. Monica’s visage was consistently slapped across Newsweek and Time magazine, while John Goodman was busy spoofing Linda Tripp on “Saturday Night Live.”

The story is not totally over, of course. According to a Reuters article out of New York City, documents from one of Clinton’s other major sex scandals that spurred the impeachment hearings were posted on the Internet by Random House Tuesday.

The documents, which include the full text of Paula Corbin Jones’ affidavit about her sexual harassment suit against the president, were used by journalist Jeffrey Toobin, who has worked for the New Yorker and covered the O.J. Simpson trial, in his new book about the scandal.

And although key players’ names will forever be attached to the impeachment hearings, some of them have moved on in a surreal manner.

Monica Lewinsky, a woman whose face most Americans could recognize before they even heard her squeaky voice broadcast on a very special episode of “20/20,” still can’t get a break.

Lewinsky, who’s now 26 but was barely legal to drink when her sexual relations with Bill Clinton began, has started a career as a handbag maker. According to some publications, experts are complimenting the extravagant bags until they find out who the maker is.

She’s still on television, albeit for a different reasons. It seems Monica, whose weight drew its share of punchlines, has dropped 30 pounds since getting on the Jenny Craig program (her original weight and her new and improved weight have never been disclosed).

But unfortunately for the Divine Miss M, several Jenny Craig franchises have decided against airing her new spots and are choosing to run the old ads instead. David Lahey, owner of the Jenny Craig franchises in Grand Chute, Wis.; Green Bay, Wis.; and Des Moines isn’t running the new Monica ads, and he told The Associated Press that “I wouldn’t be pleased if my daughter came home and said, ‘I want to be just like Monica Lewinsky.'”

In the last devastating blow to Lewinsky, her tell-all book about the affair, “Monica’s Story,” topped the “Worst of Books” in several magazines’ choices for the year.

Linda Tripp obviously got tired of her looks getting lambasted by everyone and their grandmothers. She reportedly has gotten extensive plastic surgery, and tabloids are running pictures of the revamped Tripp this week. Her legal team is apparently still working to get her wiretapping charges dismissed. Her new trial date is scheduled for July 10.

Vernon Jordan is still a powerful Washington lawyer, who recently joked that if Hillary Rodham Clinton’s New York Senate bid isn’t successful, he’ll have to hit Revlon up for a job for her.

“Hillary’s Choice,” unlike Monica’s book, topped several “Best Of” lists for the year. Hillary’s still trailing Mayor Rudolph Giuliani in the polls, and she’s shed the White House (and, some believe, Bill) for a New York country house.

And as for the central player in the White House scandal? Bill’s a lame duck, and the scandal will likely be what he is remembered for most unless fund raising for his presidential library starts really picking up. But the scandal is felt most by those who are vying for his job.

The economy is still in great shape, although it’s probably more to Alan Greenspan’s credit than to Clinton’s. And the great debate this year between the current crop of presidential candidates is over morality.

With George W. Bush, there’s the “did he or didn’t he do cocaine?” question. Some of the candidates, such as Vice President Al Gore, have fairly upstanding pasts, since there’s been no reports of past adultery and they’ve served their country during war. But even American hero Sen. John McCain reportedly cheated on his first wife, and several of the candidates have already offered information on whether they’ve behaved themselves in the past.

So a year after, the scandal itself is Bill Clinton’s legacy. It will help define the first presidential election of the 21st century. Monica will likely move on from her stint with Jenny Craig, and Linda may get even more plastic surgery, but Clinton will continue to pay. Unfortunately, so will all his predecessors.

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Kate Kompas is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from LeClaire. She is head news editor of the Daily.