I think it's time for a different perspective. Have a look at this
quiz on past presidential behavior. I don't know what the sources are
for the answers, but some of them ring true.
Quiz O' The Day: Presidents
http://www.qnx.com/~glen/deadbeef/3896.html
Starr was given the Whitewater investigation, and he ended up focusing
on Clinton's sex life. Perhaps instead of lying on the stand about it,
Clinton should have just plead the fifth amendment. But anyone who
expects others to tell the truth about their sexual activities is
begging the question. I don't care what Clinton and Lewinski did
together, and most of those who say they do are hypocrites or
demagogues. Was Clinton out of line in other ways? It would have
been interesting if the Starr report could have proven it.
And I'll tell you some other things that have been on my mind. Our
country has had some *serious* trouble with its executive branches
upholding the constitution. The Nixon and Reagan administrations did
their best to circumvent limits on presidential political, financial,
and military power. One could say that FDR wanted to be a dictator, as
well. While people mumble and whine about Clinton's lies before the
grand jury, let them think about what we've already seen in
presidential excesses! Well before we impeach Clinton for his sexual
adventures, we should think carefully about impeaching Reagan and
Nixon post facto. And to think, so many Republicans are shouting for
blood over a blow job. Where were they when Ollie North was claiming
that it was patriotic to exchange weapons for hostages, and sneak
around financing a war in Nicaragua that congress had forbidden? What
*matters* the most to us?
And for those idealists out there who think that they can raise the
standards for presidential honesty, I say you're dreaming. And you're
dreaming partly because the expectations are impossibly high anyway.
I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing the slow parade of Clinton's
congressional critics who've been caught with sexual indiscretion of
their own. I'm reminded of the story of Christ defending an adultness.
He wrote the sins of her would-be stoners in the sand until none of
them were left.
If you want to impeach Clinton, do it for what he's done as a
government official, not as a male with a penchant for oral sex. I'm
not saying I've agreed with the Clinton administration on everything;
I've complained to them directly about their policies on cryptography
and their lack of spine with respect to Internet freedoms of speech.
I'm sure each of you has his/her own problem with the administration,
too. Stick to what matters!
Steve