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

To: sea_biscuit who wrote (22541)	12/19/1998 11:04:00 AM
From: Les H	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 67261

The Clinton Drama: A Greek Tragedy Without Catharsis By Morton M. Kondracke Some people are delighted that President Clinton is about to be impeached, including inveterate Clinton-haters who think Slick Willie is finally getting his comeuppance and some who doubted that politicians could ever buck the opinion polls. Me, I'm depressed, and the only comfort is that other people are, too, and not only Democrats. Dr. Doree Lynn, a wise Washington psychotherapist, reports that "everyone I know with any connection to the government is depressed, and this is people in both parties. "I've never seen it like this. The closest was when Hillary Clinton's health care plan went down and people were depressed about it and for her. But this is different. People feel sullied now, shamed. Their dignity is lost." Last week, Gallup asked people which emotions they'd harbor if Clinton were impeached and his case sent to the Senate for a trial. Only 31 percent said they'd be "pleased," 41 percent said "angry" and 51 percent, "sad." So, what's to be miserable about? I think we're witnessing a Greek tragedy without the benefit of catharsis. Bill Clinton certainly is being brought down by his own character flaws, but there's no great moral lesson involved that will leave America improved when it's over. Clinton gives every indication of being a sex addict. Alcoholics recognize the pattern whereby he set inane physical rules for how far he'd go with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky and promised after a time to be "good." That's akin to declaring one won't drink before 5 p.m. or will stick to light beer, then remorsefully swearing off after a bender. All his life, Clinton also has been able to talk, charm and prevaricate his way out of any jam. He thought it would work in this case, too, but the audience that will buy it has dwindled to nil. Only 11 percent of the population now agrees that he didn't commit perjury. Like any Greek tragic hero, Clinton is also guilty of hubris: He indulged himself most of all when things were going well and he thought that his office, good polls and the election results made him invulnerable to his enemies and free to defy Congress. So, Clinton sinned. And he was caught and will be made to suffer. But the country has been made to suffer, too, and I fear we won't be better for it when it's over. Clinton is the epitome of 1960s values -- a libertine draft-dodger who preaches personal responsibility but doesn't practice it -- but it's hard to see his downfall as a moral improvement for the country. To the contrary, the Lewinsky case represents the triumph of tabloidism. Sex sells everything from soap to sitcoms. Now it's imbedded in our politics, too. Clinton's alleged sexual misdeed with Paula Jones -- a revolting but onetime, non-threatening encounter -- served as a launching pad for Clinton's enemies. His misdeeds with Lewinsky -- disgusting, but consensual -- provided the basis for a perjury trap that Clinton slouched into. Shame, a habit of lying and pride produced crimes of perjury. The House is about to pronounce these as impeachable "high crimes," an incredible defining-down of the Constitution. Clinton's Senate trial likely will feature detailed questioning of Lewinsky about where she was touched and when, which the major TV networks undoubtedly will say has "news value" that merits live coverage. The tawdriness won't stop with Clinton's trial, however it ends. Politicians' sexual proclivities are now permanently "in play" for journalists and political opponents. The rationale is: We don't want 'another Clinton,' do we? Moreover, the Clinton case represents a ratcheting-up of the bloodsport that U.S. politics has become. Formerly, politicians savaged their enemies in Congressional hearings. With Iran-contra and Jones-Lewinsky, they moved to court. Now, impeachment is an instrument of combat. Partisan politics has now hit tabloid bottom and gone thermonuclear at the same time. And let's be clear: This is Republicans vs. Democrats, not bipartisan resistance to potential executive tyranny. Any future Republican President is now fair game for a civil suit and a perjury trap. Another depressing aspect of all this is the spectacle of Clinton being abandoned. His wife won't defend him. The public, which says it supports him, is quiescent, while the minority that hates him is disproportionately flooding Congress' phone lines. Likely as not, when it's over, Clinton will declare that he's more like Andrew Johnson than Richard Nixon -- impeached for reasons that history will not support. It's more hubris. The case is complicated by the prospect that Clinton is finally facing down Saddam Hussein -- a matter which would normally occupy the full attention of both Congress and the executive branch. This may postpone impeachment, but it won't stop it. America is strong enough that it will survive this miserable experience and prosper. But it's not a happy holiday.