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

To: jlallen who wrote (12741)	6/4/1999 8:29:00 AM
From: Catfish	Respond to of 13994

I think she has already announced her intention to live in NY after the election. I don't see residency as being a problem since all she needs is an address for a six month period. Darrell

To: jlallen who wrote (12741)	6/4/1999 8:48:00 AM
From: Catfish	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 13994

The Clinton legacy Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc. Friday, June 4, 1999 DONALD WEATHERMAN I wrote one of my most widely condemned columns in January of 1998. In that column, I called on President Clinton to resign. The year that followed my call confirmed all the reasons I gave for Clinton resigning: His family would have been spared considerable grief, the Democratic Party would be stronger, Vice President Al Gore would be running as an incumbent in 2000 and our nation would have been spared the 14 months of political hell it was subjected to between January 1998 and February 1999. But the myriad negative consequences of Clinton's decision to put himself first and all others second pale in comparison to his example's ongoing impact on other political figures both in Arkansas and our nation. In what seems now to be times gone by, politicians tried to protect themselves and their loved ones from political embarrassment and public humiliation. But by Bill Clinton's lights, these are a small price to pay to remain in office and in the limelight. In fact, Clinton's practice of placing his own political ambitions ahead of every other consideration may very well be the legacy he leaves. He has made it very easy for other political figures to avoid doing what a short while back would have been considered "the right thing." Little wonder Attorney General Janet Reno feels no obligation to step down from office after it was revealed that her refusal to grant the FBI's request for a wiretap on a suspected spy at the Los Alamos weapons laboratory permitted the continuation of the greatest security breach in U.S. history. Why should state Sen. Nick Wilson resign after a federal investigation yielded indictments on more than 100 counts? After all, Arkansas law does not require that he do so. Little wonder the state Senate could not muster the necessary votes to establish rules prohibiting him or any other senator under indictment from voting on matters that might relate to their indictment. Mike Bearden, the other senator currently under indictment, also has chosen not to resign. Why would Independence County Sheriff Ron Webb resign just because he was convicted of sexually inappropriate behavior while conducting his law enforcement duties? All of these incidents present a clear case for the Clinton legacy. They may also explain why no one in the Clinton administration resigned after it was revealed that the president had lied to his entire cabinet about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Not only had he lied to them, but he sent them out to meet the press to perpetuate his lies. Despite their CEO using his cabinet members to deceive the general public, not one of them felt the need to resign in protest. Resigning in protest requires that one possess a sense of right and wrong, that one possess certain moral beliefs. The legacy of the Clinton administration will be a legacy devoid of moral conviction, one that considers right and wrong only in terms of winning and losing. Even Niccolo Machiavelli would have considered such base standards to be beneath the dignity of a true leader. Another feature of the Clinton legacy is its partisan nature. Keep in mind, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Speaker-designate Bob Livingston, both of whom are Republicans, resigned when they felt their moral authority had been compromised. Gingrich had less cause for resigning after the 1998 election than Clinton did after the 1994 election. Livingston had less cause for resigning in December 1998 than Clinton has had on over a dozen occasions. Livingston, you may remember, was accused of having an extramarital affair--not of rape, not of groping, not of indecent exposure, but of having a consensual affair with a woman other than his wife. He admitted to the affair and then promptly withdrew his name from consideration for speaker and resigned his House seat. Livingston's actions were the result of his sense of responsibility and shame. He recognized that his personal shortcomings were a liability to his political ambitions and to the causes he hoped to champion. The Clinton legacy is a legacy of shamelessness. The Clinton administration is an administration characterized by immoral behavior followed by amoral response. In Arkansas especially, we can trace this legacy from the White House to the statehouse to the county courthouse. The actions of Janet, Nick, Mike and Ron are consistent with the example set by their leader Bill. Why should any of them be held to a higher standard than the president of the United States? freerepublic.com Posted for discussion and educational purposes only. Not for commercial use.