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Politics : Bill Clinton Scandal - SANITY CHECK -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lazarre who wrote (18698)	12/12/1998 9:15:00 AM
From: jimpit	Respond to of 67261

I think you're wrong, lazarre. I think, and hope for the good of the republic, these sleezballs are handed an eviction notice at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Here's an interesting article from today's Washington Post. It's laughable and sad: The Washington Post The Democrats' Last Don't-Ditch-Him Effort By Kevin Merida Washington Post Staff Writer Saturday, December 12, 1998; Page B01 washingtonpost.com "Foolish" . . . "reprehensible" . . . "reckless" . . . "lying" . . . "disregard for his obligations as a law-abiding American" . . . "a bum." And that's what the president's friends are saying about him. There's something surreal about watching a defense that is seething with condemnation for the defendant. But that's where we are in the Case to Save Bill Clinton's Hide. The case is being made by Democrats who are trotting out all their best adjectives and metaphors, hoping to denigrate their president's behavior all the way to censure heaven. Censure is nirvana compared with the guillotine the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee set out for Clinton yesterday when it voted to recommend impeachment. The rest of the House will get its turn at judgment next week, but for now Democrats are playing the rhetorical game of "how many ways to damn a louse without booting him from office." "He has diminished his personal dignity and that of the office of the presidency. He has brought the presidency into disrepute and impaired the image of the president as a role model for younger Americans." So says Rick Boucher, the Democratic congressman from Abingdon, Va., and a leading presidential rescue worker. But . . . "A resolution of censure passed by both houses of Congress, requiring the signature of the president as an acknowledgment of the public's rebuke of his tawdry conduct, is the preferable alternative." Boucher was kind of rough. But the bottom line: no impeachment. Some Democrats are more comfortable with the fairy-tale approach. "There is something Alice in Wonderland-like in watching someone so smart and so skilled, so admired by the American people for his intellect and his talents, digging himself deeper and deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole, and us along with him -- and allowing him to escape accountability." So says Howard Berman, a Democratic congressman from Sherman Oaks, Calif., and another presidential paramedic. But . . . "As regards the basic concept of what constitutes an impeachable offense, for me, the logic applies: I know it when I see it." And? "This isn't it." Talk about an odd support group. Democrats are not saying, "Don't fine the nation's chief executive hundreds of thousands of dollars he doesn't have." They're not arguing against criminal prosecution once he leaves office. They're not pleading that he be spared a jail cell when the sun sets on his reign in Washington. Just don't impeach. And so to make the anti-impeachment sale, they must ratchet up the vitriol for Clinton's "despicable" . . . "shameful" . . . "unacceptable" deportment. "The pejorative has been used frequently in terms of his behavior," explains Rep. William Delahunt, a Judiciary Committee Democrat from Massachusetts. "Obviously, it's ironic." But . . . "At the same time, I recognize that there are many sinners in the world." Word choices are important in this march to censure. In his latest contrition speech yesterday, Clinton quoted Omar Khayyam's "The Rubaiyat," translated from the Persian by Edward FitzGerald. Others prefer the slang of their neighborhood. "You may choose to believe that the president was disingenuous, that he was not particularly helpful to Paula Jones's lawyers when they asked him intentionally vague questions, or that he is a bum," argued committee Democrat Jerrold Nadler of New York. "But that doesn't make him guilty of perjury." A bum? "That's an Upper West Side and Brooklyn image," explained Joel Finkelstein, Nadler's spokesman. "His point is you can call anyone a bum, but it doesn't have bearing on whether or not the president should be impeached." Finkelstein figured this should be explained further. "He talks like that. Like 'Throw the bums out.' " Apparently, just not the bum who lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. (emphasis mine-jim) © Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company

To: lazarre who wrote (18698)	12/12/1998 11:03:00 AM
From: uu	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 67261

lazarre: Your post has been perhaps one of the most civil, and realistic posts I have read. As for Bob Barr, I am truly baffled exactly what type of individuals live in his district. I have a hard time imagining members of minority groups (e.g. blacks, non-Americans, newly turned American citizens, women, hispanics, Asians,or anyone with a none white skin (!),...,...,etc. ) dares to live in his district! Just curious to know if most KKK members (if not all of them), most white supermists (if not all of them), and members of the old German gestapo live in his district!! American democracy is truly unique in that even a district such as Bob Barr's get to send their representatives to the congress. But it is understood, even an apple tree with the most premium apples in the world can not protect itself from warms. Regards, Addi Jamshidi

To: lazarre who wrote (18698)	12/12/1998 11:52:00 AM
From: sea_biscuit	Respond to of 67261

But the abiding ID for Clinton will be his resiliency and ability to govern and govern well in spite of an 8 year orchestrated assault on himself and administration. Absolutely. Many of my international friends admire him for his tenacity and his ability to achieve so much. And they particularly cite his efforts to solve the Middle East crisis, where he has worked very, very hard indeed. They also don't forget to mention Hillary Clinton and the dignity and poise with which she has handled this incredible assault. One deserves all credit even if he merely survives the kind of hostility that the President has been subjected to, and relentlessly at that, for so many years. And if one succeeds in his job, in the face of such venom and hatred... well, it is just out of the world!

To: lazarre who wrote (18698)	12/12/1998 1:32:00 PM
From: Lizzie Tudor	Read Replies (6) \| Respond to of 67261

And some will scratch there heads and ask how was this freakin' guy able to do it all with the large degree of equanimity and grace he continuously displays. Amazing. Absolutely right and the same holds for Hillary. 10 years from now both Clintons will be revered in a way that no other president has been - a kind of Jimmy Carter effect, much different of course but you know what I mean. Hillary may well be a significant political figure too, after all they are both still young by presidential standards. The RWing's rep. for being sanctimonious hypocrites with very little soul and alot of venom will simply be reinforced once again. Its amazing to me that the republicans can be so STUPID as to throw away their leadership like this and the fact that the country was clearly leaning towards the right (on its own) in advance of this mess. I predict the republican leadership will not survive in 2000. You would have thought they had learned their lesson in November.