Scumbria,
Do you think that Reagan or Bush ever lied to the American people?
That's a different question than what we've been exploring. I've been discussing the question of lying under oath as part of a legal proceeding. So this question has no relevance to the previous discussion.
However, I'll answer the corresponding question -- do I think that Reagan or Bush ever broke any laws? I don't know about Bush, but I'll bet that Reagan did (and that's coming from someone who got to interview him when he was Governor of California!). Should he have been removed from office and prosecuted? Yes, if he broke the law. Unfortunately, I wasn't as politically up-to-speed then and I don't remember as many details of all the guns-for-rebels issue, et cetera.
My general standing, though, is that no one is above the law.
To answer your direct question, yes, they probably lied to the American people. But I also don't believe that everyone has a right to know everything. As I said before, if Clinton had consensual sex with everything that could accommodate him, it's nobody's business. If, however, someone complains about harrassment, then the courts have a right to ask whether or not this person has a history of propositioning women in the office, and whether or not it has created a hostile work environment.
If that person then lies about it, he should face the regular and normal penalties of law.
One of the things our Democracy has is plenty of resiliency. There would have been no hiccup whatsoever if Gore had taken over the office. And, in fact, from a purely political point-of-view, my opinion is that Gore and the Democrats would have been in better shape for the election if Al had had a year or two to show he could do the job. I think the Demos squandered an almost guaranteed opportunity to hold the presidency for at least another 4 years (note, I'm not saying it won't happen anyway, just that it would have been easier).
Dave |
