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Politics : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: RJC2006 who wrote (3192)	8/26/1998 9:02:00 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13994

Gephardt, on Campaign Trip, Offers Weak Support for Clinton By JOHN HARWOOD Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL SCRANTON, Pa. -- House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt urged members of Congress to "wait for the facts" before deciding whether President Clinton should be removed from office. "We have a role as potential grand jurors to play," once independent counsel Kenneth Starr sends a report on his investigation to Capitol Hill, Mr. Gephardt said in an interview while campaigning for Democratic House candidates here. "We need to analyze it, we need to understand it and we need to make judgments on it in an organized and sensible way." Opening a three-day, seven-state campaign swing, Mr. Gephardt predicted that the scandals engulfing the president wouldn't tarnish Democratic candidates, depress voter turnout or crimp fund raising as the party attempts to regain a majority in the House. Like the congressional hopefuls he was boosting, Mr. Gephardt touted the issues that have unified the White House and Democratic lawmakers all year long, including Social Security, education and health care. But his cautious stance toward Mr. Clinton's political predicament mirrored what an aide described as the "mixed reaction" that fellow Democrats have heard from constituents since the president's admission last week that he had an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky and misled the country about it for seven months. Mr. Gephardt characterized the president's conduct as "reprehensible" and declined an opportunity to vouch for Mr. Clinton's credibility. Mr. Gephardt endorsed Speaker Newt Gingrich's recent temperate remarks on the possibility of impeachment and expressed faith in House Judiciary Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R., Ill.), who would lead any impeachment inquiry. "It should not be partisan," the Democratic leader declared, calling impeachment "the most important task that the Congress will ever have" next to a declaration of war. He described a call for Mr. Clinton's resignation by one Democratic lawmaker, Pennsylvania Rep. Paul McHale, as "premature." The White House has signaled that the president places a high priority on rallying support among Democrats in the weeks ahead, and a senior Clinton aide played down the significance of Mr. Gephardt's remarks. Mr. Gephardt, for his part, said he hadn't spoken to the president since his nationally televised speech last week. And the Democratic House candidates he appeared alongside Tuesday kept their distance from Mr. Clinton. "As much as I like the president's policies, that's how much I dislike his personal behavior," said Joe Hoeffel, who is seeking a House seat based in the Philadelphia suburbs. Mr. Hoeffel said he had "no plans" to invite Mr. Clinton to campaign with him this fall, a stance repeated later by fellow House candidate Pat Casey, who is running to represent Scranton's district.