A L S O+T O D A Y Combover Congress By Cynthia Heimel How can we trust our leaders to manage impeachment when they can't even manage their hair?   T A B L E+T A L K Should gun manufacturers be sued à la the tobacco lawsuits? Weigh in on guns and personal responsibility in the Politics area of Table Talk   Find deep discounts and great selection on the books you need to read at barnesandnoble.com Search by:  Keyword Title Author       R E C E N T L Y The mysteries of Bill Clinton By Gabriel García Márquez The Nobel Prize-winning author compares the president's fate to that of Hester Prynne (02/02/99) A twisted tale of two brothers By Jeff Stein A year after the Birmingham abortion clinic bombing, the gay brother of suspect Eric Rudolph still mourns its victims (01/29/99) Chasing Monica By Barbara Ehrenreich The House managers got their wish -- a chance to probe, examine and even "de-brief" the luscious Lewinsky (01/29/99) The trickster president By Richard Goldstein Clinton's enemies have made him a culture hero (01/29/99) No apologies By Debra Dickerson How I learned to fight for my country, proudly (01/28/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		WHEN SID MET JIM | PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - Blumenthal is thought to be a loose cannon by some White House aides. True, he's unequivocally loyal to the Clintons, but he is also rabidly dedicated to the proposition that a right-wing conspiracy is at work in the smearing of this president. He is high-strung and temperamental. Could Jim Rogan pull enough strings to get Blumenthal to pop off? Blumenthal apparently testified before the grand jury that Clinton denied having an affair with "that woman," and told him that Lewinsky was the aggressive "stalker" in the scenario. Blumenthal is supposed to have then spread that version of events to journalists. Rogan and other House prosecutors see this as part of Clinton's attempt to obstruct justice. If there's a danger for Clinton in the Rogan-Blumenthal face-off, it's that Blumenthal will reveal more details that could raise new questions and open the door for the House prosecutors to demand live testimony before the Senate. There's also a danger to Blumenthal: If he denies spreading the stalker story to journalists, and even one journalist comes forward to contradict him, he could face more time before Ken Starr's inquisition. But Rogan faces his own dangers -- of a political nature. He barely won office in 1996, with 50.3 percent of the vote. He won last year with 50.8 percent. His district becomes more Democratic by the month, with an influx of Latinos and Asians. The latest polls in his district, taken by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, make him look like a loser. Approval rating: Clinton, 69 percent; Rogan, 45 percent. Likely to vote for Rogan again, 34 percent; anyone else, 37 percent. Less likely to vote for Rogan because he voted to impeach Clinton: 39 percent; after seeing his role as a House manager, 44 percent. Rogan's weakness is certain to be exploited by the Democrats in 2000, when they hope to take back the House on the strength of the public's reaction against the impeachment debacle. Rogan is likely to be the bull's eye of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in the next election. But he is such a true believer in Clinton's guilt on both charges that he's told many interviewers he's willing to stand on principle, damn the political costs. Sid Blumenthal and Jim Rogan have at least one thing in common: Neither is very well-liked right now in his home territory. But only one of them can emerge from Wednesday's confrontation better off than he entered it. SALON | Feb. 3, 1999 Harry Jaffe is national editor at Washingtonian magazine and a frequent contributor to Salon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clinton in Crisis Salon's complete coverage of the investigation, impeachment and trial of the president.