Sunday, September 13, 1998

Case against Clinton more than just legal

Much of Kenneth Starr's report on William Jefferson Clinton has now been shared with the public, and the question is whether the weight of the accusatory narrative and its evidentiary details will be sufficient to sink the presidency.

Relatively little of what has been released is new or surprising, although the old is bad enough. The case for perjury, especially in the Paula Jones deposition, is strong to the point of being undeniable. The case for obstructing justice is convincing, though not perhaps as simple to prove. The case for abuse of power seems weak.

Congress must take the prosecutorial recommendations very seriously, but it must also conduct impeachment proceedings with an understanding that the formal ousting of a sitting president is a drastic action that has never occurred in American history. House Speaker Newt Gingrich has in fact promised utmost seriousness and sobriety as the House Judiciary Committee prepares to take the first steps, and there is no reason to believe he does not mean it.

Some people aver that the Republicans in control of Congress will simply be motivated to destroy Clinton, but they underestimate the capacity of people at historically critical junctures in their lives to rely on conscience, and they misapprehend the politics of the moment. The worst political mistake the Republicans could make would be to act unfairly or cavalierly. The voters would not put up with it.

No rush to impeachment

The truth is, the House will not rush to impeach nor the Senate to expel Clinton, despite the findings of Kenneth Starr's eight-month investigation into the president and his lies about his relationship with Lewinsky. Members will ask themselves over and over whether the president's possible felonies are adequate grounds for negating the popular will as expressed at the ballot box. They will exercise the prudence and high principle that their responsibility demands.

Ultimately, Congress may find the case against Clinton's staying in office is partly a legal one, but that it is something more. It won't be just the crimes, although some seem easy to demonstrate. It won't be just the sex, although it was reckless and thoroughly reprehensible for this middle-aged, married man to engage in hanky-panky with a youthful subordinate in the workplace. And it won't be just the lies to his aides, his Cabinet and the American people, although his fake sincerity in telling them repeatedly renders him unbelievable on virtually any topic.

No, the issue could eventually be that huge numbers of the American people will put all these pieces and still others together and will see Clinton as irredeemably self-indulgent, untrustworthy and dishonest. It does not seem to have come to that quite yet, but if it does, Clinton will not be able to govern and the neglect of many crucial issues will begin to threaten the nation. He should then do what is honorable. In that event, he should save Congress and the country the agony of impeachment proceedings. In that event, he should resign.