Opinion
Kansan
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Jodie Chester, Editor Marc Harrell, Business manager Gerry Doyle, Managing editor Jamie Holman, Retail sales manager Ryan Koerner, Managing editor Dan Simon, Sales and marketing adviser Tom Eblen, General manager, news adviser Justin Knupp, Technology coordinator
Friday, August 21, 1998
Robert Novak / KANSAN
Editorials
President should stick around
At the end of a long, hot summer, America stands at a crossroad. Conservatives and the media continually assert that the nation is on the brink of constitutional disaster.
Yet, the economy remains in good health, politicians are bickering about how to spend our first budget surplus in years, and we have a remarkably popular commander-in-chief. In fact, a CBS/New York Times poll taken after President Clinton's acknowledgment of "an inappropriate relationship" with Monica Lewinsky found that 71 percent of those surveyed approved of his job performance.
Although the president's actions were ethically bankrupt and morally dubious, they do not warrant him leaving office. So far, he has been convicted of no crime. Certainly he is not guilty of the "high crime and misdemeanors" that are constitutional grounds for impeachment.
Clinton may have his faults, but hasn't committed a crime against the Constitution.
Having a sexual dalliance with an intern half his age — or anyone else other than his wife, for that matter — may be morally reprerehensible, but it does not constitute a systematic, pervasive attempt to abuse governmental powers for personal gain.
began with his handling of Vietnam and snowballed during the Nixon Administration. In the post-Watergate, post-Iran Contra era, any notion that government is honorable is simply laughable.
President Clinton cannot even be blamed for the current disrepute of his office. Lyndon Johnson sounded the first death knell for complete public trust in government more than 30 years ago. Cynicism about public policy
Kenneth Starr's personal, mean-spirited investigation of the president's personal life should end here and now. He will find no more than what the American public has known since 1992: Bill Clinton is slick. He's a consumate politician; "slick" is his job.
Remember, adultery is not forbidden by the Constitution of the United States. At this point, impeachment is indefensible. Our democratic republic is not going to topple because of presidential indiscretions. There is no crisis. The nation should refuse to go rushing for an umbrella just because Ken Starr said the sky is falling.
Jennifer Roush for the editorial board
Clinton should honor position, resign
president Clinton's false statements concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky have misled the public and may constitute perjury. Rather than possibly dragging this country through tedious and agonizing impeachment proceedings, Clinton should resign from the presidency.
During a deposition in the Paula Jones sexual harassment case, Clinton denied ever having a sexual relationship with Lewinsky. In January, Lewinsky confident Linda Tripp went public with alleged evidence that an affair did occur. Days later, the president again denied any "improper relationship" with the former White House intern.
Bringing the saga to a historic twist, Clinton finally admitted Monday night after seven months and a $40 million investigation that such a relationship had existed.
Clinton has deliberately misled the country and should resign.
Despite all the bad press, Clinton's public approval ratings soar over those of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. Polls show most U.S. citizens blame Starr for the length and cost of the investigation.
The president obviously has misled all Americans, including his family, and has intentionally stifled the truth-seeking process. Though it is understandable that a figure as widely recognized as Clinton would want to protect his image, nobody is above the law.
jury. He tarnished the honor of the presidency, an institution sacred to the spirit of this nation and vital to its success.
Even if the grand jury concludes he did not perjure himself, Clinton committed a crime that cannot be punished by any
Even the circumstances of the relationship alone are grounds for his resignation. For example, if a professor was known to have had a sexual relationship with his or her student, that professor could be terminated because it is simply unacceptable within an educational environment. Similarly, we cannot tolerate sexual misbehavior between the president of the United States and another government worker.
Aside from the fiscal aspect, however, the real cost is the public's increased disillusionment with the political process.
Our nation needs trustworthy and honest leadership, and Clinton has shown he cannot fill that role.
Kansan staff
Chris Borniger dissenting for the editorial board
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Broaden your mind: Today's quote
"Falsehoods not only disagree with truths, but usually quarrel among themselves."
themselves." —Daniel Webster
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Jonathan Huskey
opinion@kansan.co
Perspective
W When character became Bill Clinton's main campaign concern in 1992. Americans generally shrouded off the issue, preferring to gawk
Americans have bowed to Clinton's low standard
at this youthful go-getter from Arkansas. Many Americans decided that a man could be of suspect character and still lead a nation.
and his Wild West show should offend everyone. Hide the women and children, and defend the county's dignity, or else concede what we might know already: Money is all we care about.
Bill Clinton is an abnormally smart man. His genius should be prosecutable because it has allowed him to wriggle out of numerous Texas-size legal land mines. He is simultaneously one of the most contemptible and forgiven figures in modern political history.
Can all these said allegations be proven? Maybe not, but no reasonable person can say they smell only roses from this sewer. To believe Bill Clinton's innocence in these scandals is to be either woefully ignorant of the facts or as duplicitous as our chief executive is.
Throughout Clinton's Houdini like presidency, the same people continue to ignore the inescapable: They knowingly have bought tickets to a presidential carnival of impropriety. As exciting as this death-defying spectacle may be, Bill
I am more openly disappointed and frustrated by the standards of the American people than the president's antics. I guess that scruples and decency matter little when the economy is as bullish as, well, Bill Clinton. The inverse relationship between the stock market and standards of taste and sincerity we hold elected officials to is understandable but not defendable.
it may almost foot against the blow.
It may be that people are afraid to criticize the president as "knock on wood" insurance for the present economy. Money may not be the root of all evil, but it is making evil a lot harder to spot for many Americans.
Lest one would confuse my argument as moral grandstanding disguising political rivalry, I consider myself rather politically liberal, and I applaud Clinton's accomplishments. However, I owe no sympathy or loyalty to an adult whose behavior allegedly rages from the bacchanalian to the illegal. Nor can anyone allow economic prosperity to blind their sight or massage their discomfort of these matters without being accountable as well.
Makes a guy almost root against the Dow.
Politics ultimately suffers from the wink and nod attitude employed by Clinton and his constituents. Bill Clinton is not the first to tarnish the presidency, but he may be the reason that we forever disregard the president as a distinguished figure worthy of respect.
Through it all, Clinton continues to receive astronomical approval ratings from those unperturbed by this White House Pinocchio, even after a nationally televised confession.
Really, fellow leaders of America, this is not complex moral stuff. No philosophical proofs are needed to demonstrate the sorry ethical state of the White House. Does Clinton's flaunting of campaign finance laws ring a bell? How about a suspicious technology transfer to China, abuse of the FBI, Whitewater, Travelgate and subordination of perjury among other shady dealings — in addition to Bill's weak zipper.
I'm no puritan, nor do I want to know all the smarmy details of a politician's life but call me a moral windbag; I actually want to "approve" of my president, not just the unemployment rate. The bigger problem is that we this coming and chose to ignore it both in '92 and '96. There has been a dirty stream of serious allegation, innuendo, impropriety and cover-up associated directly with this administration.
The present scandals may become so common and accepted that we can openly vote for a "game show president:" a telegenic spokesman who looks like a vacuous ninny, and it doesn't matter, because all he or she has to do is grin while handing out the prizes.
George Will said that a moral turpitude clause is implicit in the Constitution. If you do something outrageous, like oh say... have sex with a subordinate less than half your age while your supposed life mate is one floor above you, then we as a nation have the right to call you on it.
Regardless of how this scandal turns out,
Huskey is a Salina senior majoring in Political Science.
Slick tricks don't hide president's true character
Andrew Marino
opinion@kansan.com
naughtily stained dress and the cooperation of its untidy owner shifted the winds of blame. Clinton pathetically tried to huff and puff in the other direction Monday night by blaming Ken Starr for an investigation that had "gone on too long, cost too much, and hurt too many innocent people."
In the weeks leading up to Monday's testimony, discovery of physical evidence in the form of a
But no longer is the quiet, methodical independent counsel savaged by Clinton's army of spinsters, each of whom has been left clinging mightily to the same yellowing TV cue card exclaiming: "It's all about sex! Who cares?" Even the president politely has asked all of us to "turn away" and forget about the kind of man leading our country. Each utterance of the line is paired with the hope that it will deaden the dissecting thoughts of people on the other end — thoughts that, if developed, would render such a simplistic defense impotent.
suspicion recently b, ongoing crusade to find the entity responsible for her husband's problems. It now appears simpler. Clinton was solely responsible for his sexual dalliances with 21-year-old Monica Lewinsky and subsequent lies about the affair.
First, it carelessly dismisses that the "sex" involved the president of the United States cheating on his wife, in the White House, with a woman less than half his age. A man who relents so easily to his darker impulses is not a man of honor. Human experience tells us that the dishonorable cannot deception contained to one area of their lives.
After spending a summer under intense scrutiny, "The Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy" was cleared of association recently by our first lady in her
And so it is with Bill Clinton, who brought in Hollywood producer Harry Thomason to "coach" him to testify "completely" and
Opinion polls have led the nation between elections for the last six years because of uncooperative governance and partisanship caused by the deceit emanating from the White House. (Senator Bob Kerry, a fellow Democrat, has called Clinton an "unusually good liar.") Congress has been too intimidated to even deal with the president. Past episodes of co-opted issues and other politically motivated maneuvers have left them afraid to work with the president. The result has been a dangerously wasted presidency.
An initiative on race relations has fallen through, entitlements cannot be reformed even in a time of budgetary plenty, and it seems as if Clinton's favorite political tool, "the children," cannot even watch or read the news on account of its raciness — much less receive a good education.
America should be thankful that no major crisis has occurred on Clinton's watch. His showmanship and polling skill would prove useless to a nation in need of weightier virtues like courage and honesty.
"Who cares?" the Clintononites drone. "The American people want this behind them!" The people's indifference to the scandal can be safely attributed to their current good fortunes — an equally solid majority do not respect him personally.
Perjury committed by the president is a serious offense—even when it is about sex. He is the one who has sworn to uphold and faithfully execute the laws of the United States. Breaking that pledge not only undermines the rule of law, which guarantees our freedom, but also reveals the smallness of his character.
"truthfully" to the grand jury.
His lawerly tricks against the American people are no less troubling. Apparently, the "improper" relationship, which he denied on PBS, is not the same as the "inappropriate" relationship he admitted.
It is time for all of us to come to this somber conclusion: character does matter.
Marino is a sophomore from Prairie Village majoring in Political Science.