There are basically 3 sides to the issues this week regarding President Clinton and the accusation that he had an affair with a girl half his age, and then encouraged her to perjure herself when questioned about it.
The first position would hold that what Bill Clinton does in his personal life is his own business, and that what matters is how he handles the affairs of this country. None of these things merit the attention they are receiving, this opinion would hold.
The other position would be that the president is a role model for young people, and his inappropriate acts with young women should disqualify him from the office of president. This group feels his immediate resignation is in order.
The third sector are those who are apathetic, meaning the most news they get is what is on Hard Copy and they wouldn't know how to find a copy of the New York Times if their life depended on it.
It is that third group that really needs to be PAYING ATTENTION to all of this now.
The real issue here is not whether or not the president's actions are his own business or not. I think that both conservatives and liberals alike will agree that they are. I think we can all agree that what (or who) any president does behind closed doors is not really something that has a dramatic impact on his ability to make a business decision on behalf of our country.
The real issue is something more important. It is something every American has to answer for his or her self. It is about trust. Can you trust Bill Clinton? Do you believe he is telling the truth? Further, is trust something we should expect in a president?
We all hear sound bytes about "character counts" and "It's a matter of character". We are all human, and will all err at some point in life. However, we do not all ask the American people to trust us by electing us as president.
The President of the United States SHOULD be held to a higher standard of character than the average American. However, this man has been under controversy since he became a national figure in 1992. You can go down the list...Genifer Flowers, Whitewater, White House Travel Office, Illegal FBI investigations, Vince Foster, Ron Brown, Paula Jones, and now Monica Lewinsky.
In my opinion, the problem I have with all of this is twofold. It is not the fact that Bill Clinton had an affair that makes him look ridiculous. It is not the fact that the girl was only a couple of years older than his daughter. It is the LYING. It is the fact that he either doesn't think it matters, or he doesnt care if it does.
The second part of the problem is the fact that he allowed himself to be put into an extortionable position, meaning that he could have been blackmailed. This comprimises the security of every American, and makes him derilict in his duties as president.
It is not, nor has it ever been a matter of sex. It is a matter of trust. Where Bill Clinton is concerned, the trust, if there ever was any, is gone. |
