Ah ha!!! We finally disagree a little bit about something, Carol. I, too, am not sure the debate will prove anything, but I think it is an interesting debate to have. And I think that beyond public perception, Clinton MAY have run out of ability to spin a plausible story, if the allegations are true. I basically identify mostly with the Democratic party and its candidates, and I believe Clinton will just destroy the party's chances for quite a long time unless he is innocent of all the charges against him, or resigns quickly. I think conservatives may want him out of office for other reasons.
I am really interested about what might happen next. Does anyone want to make any predictions? Leon Panetta, a former aide well respected by Democrats, has come out publicly and said that if the criminal charges are true, the president should resign. Hardly any Democrats are coming out to support him until they can sort out whether Clinton is telling the truth, and that in itself is damaging, because it indicates that trust and confidence in the president are eroding.
Did ALL the Cabinet members who are NOT under some cloud or being investigated by a special prosecutor come out after the Cabinet meeting yesterday? I thought that was a little sad, and I even felt sorry for old Teddy Kennedy, who did rally behind the president and looked totally alone.
My own prediction is that there is a possibility Clinton will resign within a few days IF things continue to go this badly for him. I think the American people are waiting for an unequivocal reassurance from him that none of this happened, and that if he cannot provide it members of his own party will urge him to resign for the sake of the country. I think his purported strategy to paint himself as an innocent but attentive father figure in Monica's life will fail, and I am very, very puzzled about what Mrs. Clinton will say. Any ideas, anyone? She is scheduled to be interviewed by Katie Couric next week on NBC.
Clinton started signalling last Wednesday in his interview with Jim Lehrer that we may invade Iraq soon without help from our allies, and now Secretary of State Albright is seconding that. I think he may try to do this and hope it will be a distraction from what is going on, but if he does, it may not work, since almost everyone in the country knows about 'Wag the Dog' now.
I bet that Clinton's aides are sitting there amongst the empty pizza boxes, quite exhausted, making up a list of contingency plans. Bottom line? If the charges are true, my guess is that Clinton will say that he is a sex addict, which is a mental disorder, but that he has been in denial and did not realize the harm he has caused, that he is now in treatment, and then throw himself on the American public asking for sympathy while he stays in office and recovers.
So, what does everyone else think might happen? |
