Proof that Clinton should resign

This column ran in the IDS on September 10, 1998. As the House Judicial Committee's hearings continue, this column is just as relevant almost three months later. It can be found on-line by following this link.

With the Ken Starr report soon to arrive, the rhetoric and misleading statements are starting to pile up. Bill Clinton's supporters are putting on quite a show in order to shift blame, demonize Starr, or just to confuse the average citizen. To clear the air a bit, here are a few indisputable facts regarding the current situation in our nation's capital.

1. This mess is totally Bill Clinton's fault. He has no one to blame but himself. Not Ken Starr, not Republicans, not a vast, right-wing conspiracy. It's all his fault, and every free-thinking person in the country knows it. If he didn't make a continual effort to get sexual favors from his subordinates or try to obtain sex from random women he saw in hotels, none of this would have happened. Only an idiot would have sex with someone they're not married to; not only is it wrong, it will eventually catch up with the politically-minded, as Rep. Dan Burton recently found out.

2. This is not an issue of his public vs. private life. The president represents you, me and everyone else to the rest of the world. We have the right to know what the world is going to see as our representative, especially if "private" business takes place in the Oval Office, the most important place in America.

3. Ken Starr is not wasting our money, Bill Clinton is. He could have saved the taxpayers of this country seven months merely by honestly responding to the Monica Lewinsky allegations back in January instead of stalling and stonewalling for months. Don't blame Starr for the cost of this investigation; again, if Clinton hadn't made sexual advances toward these women, none of this would be happening.

4. Not all other presidents have done what Clinton has done. The Clinton defenders' chant of "they've all done it" should appall every American. Perhaps some did, but they are vastly outnumbered by those who didn't. Try to find an affair of Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Reagan or James Madison. It is reprehensible to claim 41 of the greatest men in history were a bunch of sex-obsessed perverts just to excuse Bill Clinton's immoral behavior.

5. His televised apology is irrelevant. Americans shouldn't be interested in an apology for Clinton's behavior, because we know deep down inside, he is dishonest. He does not tell the truth and has admitted as much to us. Therefore, we should understand any time he says "I'm sorry" we have no reason to believe him. He lied once before to try to stay out of trouble, what's to keep him from trying again? He shouldn't receive the benefit of the doubt any longer.

6. Clinton will never resign. He has spent his entire life trying to get more power, from running for Congress to the Governor's Mansion to the White House. His only concern has been how to get more power for himself, and now that he's got the most he'll ever have, it'll be difficult to get him out even after his two terms are finished. Besides, even if he wanted to resign, Hillary wouldn't let him. She's just as power-hungry as he is, but without him, she won't have any. Think about it: why else would she let Bill treat her as he does? Would any other woman put up with this kind of behavior from her husband?

7. A Congressional reprimand is a ridiculous idea. What's the point? To shame Bill Clinton? He's done enough of that by himself without any help. To disregard the Starr report in favor of some pointless resolution in order to "get on with life" would be harmful to the country, because the details of the report would slowly be discovered and trickle out, with each week bringing some new rumor.

If the motive is truly to "get on with life," then the report should be eagerly anticipated, since it will divulge everything at once. The reprimand idea is just one more ploy by Clinton supporters to get him off the hook. In order to truly put this matter behind the country, and to cause the least pain to our nation, Clinton should resign.