5
Opinion
H he CI ac I< amas P rînt
... should he be impeached?
Is a lie enough to
destroy a presidency ?
BRAD ZIMMERMAN
Co-Editor-in-Chief
1. “Yeah it matters, for one: he’s a
dumb-ass for doing it in the first place,
and two: him messing around shouldn’t
matter but it does. ”
2. “What’s morality?... Yeah, I think it
does because he’s supposed to lead the
nation. ”
James McMillan A
student
1. “ No. I don’t think that that affects
his ability to lead the nation. What’s
problematic, though, is that he may
have perjured himself. Sure, he may
indeed have had an affair and that
doesn’t bother me a bit, but if he can
perjure himself in one situation and not
in another, when will we be able to trust
him. So that’s my take on it. ”
This was shaping up to be a good year. Sure, the
economies of most of Asia areh’t so hot and Iraq looks
like it might cause some trouble but that besides those
big problems, ’98 was looking to be a good year. Now
it looks like most Republicans’ biggest dream could
possibly come true: the impeachment of the President
of the United States.
When the problems with Gennifer
Flowers were an issue back in ’92, no
1. “Yes, because he represents the one cared too much. Clinton denied
United States and he also represents any wrongdoing and the media didn’t
the integrity of the people of the United really seem to care. Then Paula Jones
States. We ’ll have to wait and see if came along. Again, there was some
he’s guilty. ”
interest but nothing substantial.
Now, from out of the blue comes
2. “I think the scandal might affect his
Monica Lewinsky. There are several
reputation, and so that might affect his
reasons why the press has jumped all
ability to be a good President and the
over Clinton this time. One, Lewinsky
stress might affect his ability to be a
jvas 21 when the supposed affair
good President. ”
occured. Two, Lewinsky has already charge is
Laurie McGinnis A
signed an affidavit stating that she did
true
student
not have a sexual relationship with
Clinton
Clinton. However, now apparently
•
■
she’s saying that may not be the case,
/izfe?
which leads to the third point, the blame
Lewinsky might have been pressured
^>7” j^ot
into lying. Finally, Clinton has already , .
, .
stated, under oath that he didn’t have
^^tlg
e
a sexual relationship with Lewinsky. tO Control
If he did, he could be accused of per- , himself. -■
jury, which is a federal (and impeach-
able) offense.
Brad
The popular press is claiming they Zimmerman
2. “It may depending on what moral
issue you ’re talking about. But in this
given instance I don’t believe the im
morality of committing adultery affects
his ability to lead the nation. If it were
a different moral question, I would an
swer differently. ”
1. “Yes I do. The fact that he’s mar
ried. It might reflect in his work, like
his honesty. ”
2. “I don’t think it affects his ability,
but I do think it affects his ability to be
honest. If he is found guilty I don’t
think he should be impeached, but he
should be punished. ”
Debbie Planert A
student
Tim Schell A
English instructor
1. “No. I don’t really care. I don’t like
him and I don’t think he should be there
anyway. ”
2. “If he’s lying about it he shouldn’t
be President because he’s obviously
not trustworthy. ”
Garrett Johnson A
student
don’t have a big problem with the fact
’
that Clinton had an affair. Most edi- ____________
tors and writers claim they knew he
wasn’t perfect back in ’92. They say now, though, that
if he lied it’s way more serious.
The other night on OPB radio, three newspaper edi
tors were interviewed. One editor was from Denmark;
the other two (a man and a woman) were from Seattle
and San Francisco respectively. The editor from Den
mark brought up several interesting points, one of which
was the fact that the only reason Clinton would have
had to lie was because the media got interested in his
private life.
Of course, I don’t advocate extramarital affairs. Per
sonally, I think if the extramarital charge is true, Clinton
should take the blame for not being able to control him
self. But there’s so much more involved here than a
simple affair and a possible lie.
Since ’92 Clinton has helped lead the American
economy into some of its best years since the mid ‘70’s;
he’s worked with Congress to balance the budget. He’s
helped bring the situation in Bosnia under control. He’s
one of the most respected world leaders we’ve seen since
John Kennedy. Of course, Kennedy had plenty of af
fairs.
Media people are claiming that the American people
can’t let someone lead them that has lied about his ac
tivities. This is ridiculous. Every president has lied
about his activities since Washington. The American
public, contrary to popular opinion, does not need to
know every last detail. We’re experiencing information
overload as it is.
Of course, every media person is taking the moral high
ground. It disgusts me. I don’t think anyone is looking
even a month into the future here, much less a few years
into the future. The impeachment or early removal of a
successful president, a president who’s done so much
for America and its citizens, will have a profound im
pact on the entire world. Is it worth it just to punish a
lie?
Wednesday, January 28, 1998