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It was a beautiful day on the hill. A beautiful day for a scandal. The one set of paper that all of Washington had been waiting for since January was about to be made public. The report by Independant Counsel Ken Starr on the Lewinsky matter. Had there indeed been hanky-panky. Was there a coverup. Was all the bluster through the months by the White House because they were pissed off at a loose cannon Ken Star or beacause they were afraid of what Ken was finding out.
His job is over now, mainly, and the matter lies in the hands of Congress. And it is a matter that will surely cause them to dirty those hands. Fox scooped the world by close to an hour, receiving a copy from a connection close to the Judiciary committee. As we began to read the report, on the air, it was clear that we were walking through the threshhold of history. 11 specific, potentially impeachable offenses. Offenses from perjery, to obstruction of justice, witness tampering, and abuse of the office of the President.
About 15 minutes later we began getting advance copies of the details, once again scooping the competition. We quicly grew queasy. Read the deatils and find out for yourself. Here were detailed accounts of a United States President, not only having lustful relations with a woman young enough to be his daghter, but having kinky sex with her, in the White House, while on the phone with members of the Congress.
I think the time has come for President Clinton to RESPECTFULLY resign the presidency. To remain in office is to disrespect the office of the President, the people of this nation, and the sacred institutions of American Democracy. He has repeatedly violated the foundation of our judiciary - telling the truth. He has abused the powers vested in him by the people of America - by pressuring witnesses, asking them to lie, and finding graft for those who cooperated like Hubbel and Lewinsky. He was violated the sanctity of his marriage and his family. This is not a man fit for office.
True, Clinton is not the first President to fool around while in office. Sex and power go hand in hand. Just go up to Capitol Hill and take notice of the large numbers of very good looking women walking around. But before Clinton, the private affairs of the President were of a discreet nature. Either through stupidity, or blind luck of screwing the wrong women, the affaris of Lewinsky and Clinton have come to the public’s attention.
The fact that the dark affair found daylight is now what will prove to be the undoing of the Clinton presidency - it is his reactions to it. Ken Star would have never investigated the president’s personal, private relationships had he not lied about them under oath. He even ad a chance to save himself and his presidency by telling the truth in January. He didn’t even have to tell the complete truth. I’ve done something bad. I’ve had an inappropriate physical relationship, outside my marriage, with a White House intern would have been more than enough to satiate the public and salvage his political career.
Bill Clinton acted like a petty criminal - he lied. He lied over and over again. Under oath and on camera to the nation. Being a lawyer, Clinton should have known better than to perjure himself. And he full well knew the risk that if the perjury was investigated, the lurid details would be uncovered in the prusuit of his perjury.
What Bill Clinton has done to his marriage, his credibility, his friends, and his vaunted legacy are his own problems. They are matters that Bill himself, and himself alone, must deal with. They are issues that every President who has committed similar acts (and they are many) deal with. And they are to be dealt with behind closed door. They are none of our business.
But what Bill Clinton has done by perjury, obstruction, and abuse through the power of his office are the business of all Americans. These are the solem issues that Ken Starr has bravely and professionally addressed. These are the issues that congress is now dealing with. There is only one respectable way out. Resignation of the Presidency.
So, is this about anger. I think that’s what a lot of it is. What the President did is a lot less kinky than a lot of people I’ve met do on a regular basis. He broke no laws by his actions with Lewinsky. My anger is that he had the gall, the audacity, to do what he did, under the circumstances, and then lied over and over to his family, staff, confidants, and the American public.