dougjn: well put, but wrong.
re: "it's a private matter". Clinton is well aware that it is a very public matter. The first thing he did when he realized his infidelity might become public, was to ask his pollster to find out how the public would respond. When he was told that he couldn't politically survive a public revelation, he made the decision to stonewall rather than admit it. He lied, under oath, and he systematically tried to get other people to lie under oath.
This really isn't about sex, it's about power. Any sex between two people, where all the power is with one of them, is not a consensual relationship. It is coerced, no matter what words were actually spoken between them. That's why the law says that sex between a 14-year-old and a 20-year-old is rape, no matter what either of them say. That's why the law bars sex between doctors and patients. In terms of their relative power, Bill and Monica are a lot like Jefferson and his black slave. Clinton is, 1) a man, 2) more than twice as old, and 3)about 15 levels higher in the hierarchy they were in. Was Monica in a position to say no? Is rape a High crime?
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors".....what does it mean?.....the only prior cases were in far different situations, and a long time ago, and very few cases at that (two in 200 years). Do you really think the current House of Representatives is going to be guided by medieval English Common Law, or by things Hamilton wrote down 200 years ago? They'll be guided by what they feel, and what the polls say.
re: "let us never again investigate a President, while he is in office, for offenses which would not, if true, clearly and unambiguously rise to the level of High Crimes and Misdemeanors." What you are saying is that powerful people should be held to a lesser standard, morally and legally, than the rest of us. You've got it exactly backward. Power is inherently corrupting. Powerful people have the potential for causing much more harm to the rest of society than powerless people. Therefore, the more power a person has, the closer we should watch them, and the higher a standard we should hold them to.
I'm a doctor in a small town. I'm married. If I had an affair with, say, a nurse's aide (someone half my age, who I supervise at work), and lied about it for months, and only grudgingly admitted it when presented with irrefutable physical evidence, then I would be asked by my fellow physicians to go find work elsewhere. My competence as a physician wouldn't matter. Patients and staff would shun me. I don't see why Clinton should be held to a lower standard, or why his punishment should be less.
My standards are not really that high. Here's two of them: Don't lie (at least, don't lie to Grand Juries). Keep your promises (at least, the important ones, like your marriage vows). A society has to have standards, and enforce them. The alternative is chaos.
BTW, I voted for him, twice. |
