Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________ THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/22-29/98)

Gary Kamiya, in his swank, Euro-trash apology for Clinton's wild horniness, states, "Men who cheat at golf, lie to their friends and screw around can be first-rate world leaders."
When will journalists, covered in all the slime our politicians and celebrities can dish out, realize why this became news in the first place (and not merely because we all love a juicy scandal): that (heaven forbid!) there just may be some people out here who do not cheat at golf, would never lie to a friend (what kind of friend is that, anyway?) and certainly are not screwing around on their wives. And at the very least -- at the most utterly minuscule amount -- could Mr. Kamiya admit that we know in our heart of hearts that this is trashy behavior we all hope to avoid, and if so, it is behavior that we will never condone in our highest figureheads?
Can't you just try to search your conscience (you remember, that strange uneasiness you felt when you first stole a cookie from Mama's goodie jar) and recognize that it is not contradictory to expose (and, yes, even forgive) the pitfalls of being all-too-human, but still maintain some measure of accountability in our elected leaders.
-- Trevor T. Murray
While I agree wholeheartedly with Gary Kamiya's take on the Clinton tragedy, I admit that if a different president were in office -- say, a George Bush -- I would gleefully find myself aboard the impeachment bandwagon.
Although Andrew Ross' editorial reeked of sanctimony -- charging Clinton with "grave moral offenses" and invoking the virginal Chelsea Clinton against her father in a, may I say, most affecting fashion --- I must agree with his central point. The president has now made a public statement that the allegations are false. If he is lying, he is doomed. Though this alleged case of suborning perjury and lying under oath about his sexual affairs is understandable (as Kamiya puts it, "the ultimate justifiable lie"), that cannot be our criteria. The machine is now set in motion -- as much as it pains me, if Clinton has broken the law, I will have to support his impeachment.
Perhaps poor Clinton is the sacrificial lamb that will transform once and for all this country's "adolescent" sexual hypocrisy --- at least that would be some sort of bridge to the 21st Century. Left choking on rubble and ashes, hopefully the burning question on everyone's mind will be, "How was it again that the leader of the free world was required to testify under oath about blow jobs?"
-- Stewart Clarke
My thanks to Gary Kamiya for adding a large dose of sanity to the craziness surrounding the Monica Lewinsky situation in his article "Ain't Nobody's Business but His Own."
Nothing has been proven and Clinton has been convicted of absolutely nothing, yet the media have convicted him (of what I'm not sure) and various pundits are calling for his resignation. Just because he may have had an affair? I guess Reagan's involvement in the Iran-contra affair or Bush's involvement in drug-running through Panama were not nearly as earth-shaking as all this.
Doesn't anyone else find it odd that the prosecutor in the Whitewater affair from about 10 years ago is suddenly interested in an alleged affair that happened a few months ago? If Kenneth Starr wants to convict Clinton of something -- anything -- he should be a little more subtle. It smells more and more like partisan political dirty tricks all the time.
Overall, it looks like the media are playing this up because it is juicy. I doubt the American public cares all that much about who the president sleeps with as long as he gets the job done. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize this week, after all, and the U.S. budget may have its first surplus in many years. He must be doing something right.
Maybe the media just don't know what to do with the first president in 35 years capable of even HAVING sex.
-- Joel Rome
Gary Kamiya's attempts to reason why Clinton should not leave office if he had sex with an intern and attempted to have her commit perjury are way off-base. In fact, it sounds more like he is making apologies for the president. Here are the two simple reasons why Clinton must go if the allegations are true: He is in a position of ultimate power and she was working for him. It does not matter if it might have been consensual. This is wrong. The allegation of attempting to get Monica Lewinsky to perjure herself is a felony. A president committing a felony must leave office.
-- Mike Hedman
So what a person does privately REALLY has no bearing on their public life? Wow -- I'll bet the minister down the street, contemplating the affair with the parishioner, will be happy to hear that; or the guy who runs the day-care center, thinking about having an affair with one of the kids' mothers; or the camp counselor who'd like to drop to her knees in front of the camp director. They will be gratified to know that we, as good parents and citizens, will now overlook these "only human" lapses of personal ethics as "none of our business."
Look, it's not that I expect public officials to be held to a higher standard than I am. I only expect they be held to the SAME standard. Has it really come to this, that in the name of political expediency, we, the lauded "American People" look the other way while public officials behave in ways we wouldn't tolerate in our own homes? Is there a wife out there who can honestly tell me that if her husband gets a blow job from someone half his age, it won't impact his ability to be a husband and father? Or is it that, as long as that paycheck keeps coming in, it doesn't matter? (After all, how could a little innocent b.j. possibly affect one's ability to make the "hard decisions" required in the workplace?)
I'm plenty repulsed by this whole situation -- but no longer by the Clintons. It's the moral equivocating and cheesy situational ethics and hypocrisy of the American public. It's the willingness to tolerate the worst in people, as long as we have our promises of government goodies.
So Clinton may be a louse, but I guess as long as he's your louse he'll be welcome.
-- Pamela Tucker
I enjoy your work immensely, and I'm glad you are free to print pretty much whatever you like. But don't you think occasionally it becomes crass? Take a look at Wednesday's edition -- "scumbag"; "blow job"; etc. That's crass. You can make your point very eloquently without headlines like this. What, you think I'm more likely to read Horowitz's column because of the scumbag headline? Uh, uh.
-- Howard Fishman
It would be VERY interesting if on your President Clinton poll you had a button for getting rid of Ken Starr. Also, your poll sucks because the underlying assumption is that Mr. Clinton is guilty. Bad shit, man!
-- Rick Campbell
SALON | Feb. 30, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| THE CLINTON CRISIS

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_______________ THE CLINTON CRISIS (01/22-29/98)
	Gary Kamiya, in his swank, Euro-trash apology for Clinton's wild horniness, states, "Men who cheat at golf, lie to their friends and screw around can be first-rate world leaders." When will journalists, covered in all the slime our politicians and celebrities can dish out, realize why this became news in the first place (and not merely because we all love a juicy scandal): that (heaven forbid!) there just may be some people out here who do not cheat at golf, would never lie to a friend (what kind of friend is that, anyway?) and certainly are not screwing around on their wives. And at the very least -- at the most utterly minuscule amount -- could Mr. Kamiya admit that we know in our heart of hearts that this is trashy behavior we all hope to avoid, and if so, it is behavior that we will never condone in our highest figureheads? Can't you just try to search your conscience (you remember, that strange uneasiness you felt when you first stole a cookie from Mama's goodie jar) and recognize that it is not contradictory to expose (and, yes, even forgive) the pitfalls of being all-too-human, but still maintain some measure of accountability in our elected leaders. -- Trevor T. Murray While I agree wholeheartedly with Gary Kamiya's take on the Clinton tragedy, I admit that if a different president were in office -- say, a George Bush -- I would gleefully find myself aboard the impeachment bandwagon. Although Andrew Ross' editorial reeked of sanctimony -- charging Clinton with "grave moral offenses" and invoking the virginal Chelsea Clinton against her father in a, may I say, most affecting fashion --- I must agree with his central point. The president has now made a public statement that the allegations are false. If he is lying, he is doomed. Though this alleged case of suborning perjury and lying under oath about his sexual affairs is understandable (as Kamiya puts it, "the ultimate justifiable lie"), that cannot be our criteria. The machine is now set in motion -- as much as it pains me, if Clinton has broken the law, I will have to support his impeachment. Perhaps poor Clinton is the sacrificial lamb that will transform once and for all this country's "adolescent" sexual hypocrisy --- at least that would be some sort of bridge to the 21st Century. Left choking on rubble and ashes, hopefully the burning question on everyone's mind will be, "How was it again that the leader of the free world was required to testify under oath about blow jobs?" -- Stewart Clarke My thanks to Gary Kamiya for adding a large dose of sanity to the craziness surrounding the Monica Lewinsky situation in his article "Ain't Nobody's Business but His Own." Nothing has been proven and Clinton has been convicted of absolutely nothing, yet the media have convicted him (of what I'm not sure) and various pundits are calling for his resignation. Just because he may have had an affair? I guess Reagan's involvement in the Iran-contra affair or Bush's involvement in drug-running through Panama were not nearly as earth-shaking as all this. Doesn't anyone else find it odd that the prosecutor in the Whitewater affair from about 10 years ago is suddenly interested in an alleged affair that happened a few months ago? If Kenneth Starr wants to convict Clinton of something -- anything -- he should be a little more subtle. It smells more and more like partisan political dirty tricks all the time. Overall, it looks like the media are playing this up because it is juicy. I doubt the American public cares all that much about who the president sleeps with as long as he gets the job done. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize this week, after all, and the U.S. budget may have its first surplus in many years. He must be doing something right. Maybe the media just don't know what to do with the first president in 35 years capable of even HAVING sex. -- Joel Rome Gary Kamiya's attempts to reason why Clinton should not leave office if he had sex with an intern and attempted to have her commit perjury are way off-base. In fact, it sounds more like he is making apologies for the president. Here are the two simple reasons why Clinton must go if the allegations are true: He is in a position of ultimate power and she was working for him. It does not matter if it might have been consensual. This is wrong. The allegation of attempting to get Monica Lewinsky to perjure herself is a felony. A president committing a felony must leave office. -- Mike Hedman So what a person does privately REALLY has no bearing on their public life? Wow -- I'll bet the minister down the street, contemplating the affair with the parishioner, will be happy to hear that; or the guy who runs the day-care center, thinking about having an affair with one of the kids' mothers; or the camp counselor who'd like to drop to her knees in front of the camp director. They will be gratified to know that we, as good parents and citizens, will now overlook these "only human" lapses of personal ethics as "none of our business." Look, it's not that I expect public officials to be held to a higher standard than I am. I only expect they be held to the SAME standard. Has it really come to this, that in the name of political expediency, we, the lauded "American People" look the other way while public officials behave in ways we wouldn't tolerate in our own homes? Is there a wife out there who can honestly tell me that if her husband gets a blow job from someone half his age, it won't impact his ability to be a husband and father? Or is it that, as long as that paycheck keeps coming in, it doesn't matter? (After all, how could a little innocent b.j. possibly affect one's ability to make the "hard decisions" required in the workplace?) I'm plenty repulsed by this whole situation -- but no longer by the Clintons. It's the moral equivocating and cheesy situational ethics and hypocrisy of the American public. It's the willingness to tolerate the worst in people, as long as we have our promises of government goodies. So Clinton may be a louse, but I guess as long as he's your louse he'll be welcome. -- Pamela Tucker I enjoy your work immensely, and I'm glad you are free to print pretty much whatever you like. But don't you think occasionally it becomes crass? Take a look at Wednesday's edition -- "scumbag"; "blow job"; etc. That's crass. You can make your point very eloquently without headlines like this. What, you think I'm more likely to read Horowitz's column because of the scumbag headline? Uh, uh. -- Howard Fishman It would be VERY interesting if on your President Clinton poll you had a button for getting rid of Ken Starr. Also, your poll sucks because the underlying assumption is that Mr. Clinton is guilty. Bad shit, man! -- Rick Campbell SALON \| Feb. 30, 1998