_______________SALON EDITORIAL: ENOUGH! BY DAVID TALBOT (08/21/98)

Bravo to you for saying so well what needs to be said. While it goes without question that Bill Clinton has disappointed Democrats and other American patriots because he could not resist the opportunity for easy sex, there is no excuse for the outrageous, fiendish conduct of Ken Starr and his Republican ilk. These rabid rodents of the right are hell-bent on destroying the Democratic Party and the democratic process. They have no regard for the damage they inflict on this nation or any of its citizens as long as they can wield power. I have no doubt that Starr and others are deliberately attempting to overthrow the legally elected government of the United States. That is treason. Why are they not on trial? -- David Travis Austin, Texas Your allegations are unfounded, full of hype and Clintonista rhetoric. You have your opinion and I have my facts! Clinton is a liar and a crook, and if he gets by only with impeachment and no jail time, I will be truly amazed. You should be ashamed to be telling such falsehoods in public. -- Fred Lomax North Carolina Is there really no way we can help get rid of Starr? We need to create an avenue for the will of the people to move the wheels of the government in such a situation. Waiting for election time is sometimes too long to wait. Starr must go now! -- Maggie Bryan I am nauseated by these right-wing lawyers and the insipid, unctuous midgets of the corporate media who condemn President Clinton for lying about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. These idiots should ask themselves how readily they would broadcast the most intimate details and secrets of their personal lives to the entire world, let alone to a pernicious, smug, black-hearted lawyer like Kenneth Starr, who would scour the sewers like a rat in order to find dirt by which to ensnare his victims. Starr's prosecutorial stalking of Bill Clinton has resulted in Clinton's telling a lie, probably in a desperate attempt to spare himself and his loved ones needless emotional suffering and searing public embarrassment. Wouldn't many of us at least be tempted to tell a similar lie as well, even under oath, in order to protect our privacy? But, of course, this debacle has never been about personal fidelity and truth; it has always, since the beginning, been about power politics and the excesses of a craven press that long ago shed any pretenses of advancing the interests of ordinary Americans. Accordingly, Bill Clinton must never resign. His posture should now reflect this clear, simple and, yes, proudly defiant attitude toward his persecutors: Go fuck yourselves. -- Jeffrey B. Silverstein, Esq. Ultimately, this whole ordeal is a result of a character flaw in our president: He has a very difficult time being forthright with anyone in his life, and he is so self-centered that he thinks his charm will be good enough to usurp the truth. You point to the "out of control" Starr as the reason Bill Clinton is having problems, when in fact it's Clinton's own behavior that has brought him disgrace. The fact remains, no one at your staff has any idea what Starr has discovered. You buy into the spinning Clinton media hit squad, an unscrupulous, unreliable staff to say the least. -- J. R. Davidson Atlanta David Talbot is right on target in calling for the Washington Post and New York Times to wean themselves away from the leaky teat of Kenneth Starr and do some true investigative reporting on the corrupt witnesses and Javert-like obsession inherent in his investigation. But it won't happen. The Washington press corps, the punditry and the national TV media have far too much ego invested in the sensational aspects of this story to do any investigative reporting whatsoever. Keep up the good work, Salon, because you are the only magazine giving more than one side of this complex picture. -- Bobbijo Harris Although I think Clinton's personal behavior in regards to Monica Lewinsky should be condemned, I strongly agree with today's editorial about Starr. A man who thinks that wearing a necktie is obstruction of justice is a clinical case, not a respectable prosecutor. He should be stopped before he further damages the credibility of U.S. law and politics. -- Steven L. Reynolds Tempe, Ariz. It is more than past time to end the Starr fiasco. He has brought great harm to the country and the Clinton family. Many families survive the crisis in their personal lives that the Clintons are working with. These families are spared the worldwide publicity and the salacious comments. End Starr's reign. Fire him. -- M. Shrock Starr has worked for four years on this investigation; I want to see what else he's got. If the past week is any indication, Clinton may well have committed crimes that make perjury seem trivial. For months, Salon has been saying that Starr has nothing at all on Clinton -- we now know that's not true. Now you say it's "nothing but the sex." Well, time will tell. But all of a sudden, you bold and courageous journalists have lost your appetite for getting to the bottom of things. Golly, I wonder why? -- Hiawatha Bray Boston Very interesting, all this screechy diatribe that the Starr investigation must end. Indeed it must, but it is not Judge Starr who has delayed, it is the White House and their flying monkeys from various camps. Contrast this with the behavior of Carter and Reagan under their special prosecutors. They waived all executive privileges as a matter of policy. Why? Because they did not want to give even a vague appearance of obstruction. They understood how precarious is the rule of law when it seems to not apply to the enforcers. Bill Clinton has spit on such an antique notion. You think Ken Starr is destroying the country? He is merely a conduit for the filth to issue into the light from the befouled foundations of our government where it has hidden these six some years. Monica is just the thin end of a long and cruelly fluted wedge. It would drive on, Starr or no. -- Ken Ralph Watson Your editorial is a pathetic compilation of pro-Clinton clichés. The process of dethroning the "schmucko" will continue until it's over. Salon's wistful comments are a voice from the peanut gallery. Get real. -- Wayne R. Dynes The fact is, there has never been anything resembling a valid legal basis for the scandal, because presidents have a right to have affairs, to lie about them, conceal them and not have their privacy invaded because of them. The link to the Jones case doesn't wash, because an affair is not an indication of sexual harassment. The minute Starr determined that sexual harassment was not involved, which should have taken a few seconds, he had no right to make any further inquiries into the Lewinsky affair. -- Gary Novak It is not time for Starr to "move on"; he's not done doing the job he was appointed to do. It is, however, time for apologists like Talbot to "get off it" and let the man go about his business. Starr's record of convictions (and outright confessions) thus far is stellar, and proves beyond "any reasonable doubt" that there is more to this president's behavior than meets the zipper. -- Jon E. Dougherty SALON | Aug. 26, 1998

R E C E N T L Y+| HELLFIRE FROM THE RIGHT BY HARRY JAFFE

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