JS> 
JS>I agree Mike. Believe it or not, the affair between Kaiser Wilhelm Von 
JS>Klinton and the nymphette Monica Lewinsky is actually a matter between 
JS>Klinton and Brunhillary. What he does behind closed doors in the sexual
JS>arena, IDEALLY should be his business. However, since he is the Preside
JS>and therefore the Commander In Chief, he has to set the example.
 
     You, and I, and most others in the echo apparently have different
ethical standards, and therefore different expectations of what a
President should be and do than the vast majority of the American
people.  In the midst of what can only be called a crisis of ethics,
Clinton has posted a 73% approval rating in some polls.  To put this in
perspective, we are talking about a higher approval rating than Reagan
ever had during his eight years in office.
     Something is terribly, terribly, wrong with this.  He has already
admitted lying to the American people over the Genifer Flowers affair.
He has ran, for years, from one scandal to the next flaunting not only
the bounds of personal ethical behavior, but the bounds of privacy of
his peers, the bounds of honesty with public funds, and the bounds of
credibility itself.  Yet the American public seems unshaken by all of
this.
     Even if he had the affair, and it is proven, over 60% of those
polled believe he should remain in office.  That is an amazing number
when you consider the depth and force of the lies he has purportrated
on the American people in his own defense.  If he had been the CEO of a
large corporation and was discovered having an affair with a very young
apprentice he would face sexual harassment charges and be immediately
terminated.  Yet as president, hios behavior is deemed OK by most.
     How can the public react as it is reacting?  As Dole
said..."Where's the outrage?"
JS>How can one justify the Senior NCOs now languishing in Leavenworth for 
JS>behavior that is similar if not identical to that of their CIC? What ab
JS>Lt. Kelly Flynn? And more importantly, WHERE is Patricial Ireland durin
JS>all this?
 
      Exactly identical behavior, except there are no allegations in
those cases of perjury, subornation of perjury, or obstruction of
justice...and this is the same president that sought protection under
the provisions of law designed to protect active service personnel from
civil suits.   Grrrr...
JS>I seriously doubt that Gore would pardon Klinton. For if he did, the GO
JS>would have a ready made issue for the 2000 campaign. 
 
      Here we disagree.  If Clinton is forced to resign I really
believe a pardon for Clinton, much along the lines of the pardon Nixon
received from Ford, is pretty much a given.  The whole thing will be
covered by "bringing a divided nation back together", "putting this
behind us and getting back to work", and all the catch phrases used
before.  Plus, as long as these investigations are active, Gore could
very well end up with his head on a pole too.  He has a vested interest
in shutting down Judge Starr's operation and the other related
investigations of Clinton as well.  He's no babe in the woods himself.
JS>To put the issue at hand in clear focus, and to paraphrase the Klinton'
JS>slogan, "It's the issue of Perjury stupid!"
 
       If Judge Starr had 1/10th of the public relations people, spin
doctors, media relations people, strategic planners, and pollsters that
Clinton has working for him, Clinton would have been forced to resign
last week.  What the press and the public fails to realize is that on
one hand we have an administration with unlimited public resources
operating an all out attack on public opinion and on the other we have
a federal judge quitely going about his business and conducting a
criminal investigation.  Judge Starr has no media spokesman, no spin
doctors, no public relations people, and no plan to influence public
opinion.  All he has is the facts and the truth. 
 
                                              /\/\ike
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