c. 1998 Religion News Service
UNDATED _ Do I feel safer now that President Clinton has been badgered into admitting his personal failings? No, the lurker in the brown sedan who cruises our neighborhood is still out there.
Do I feel honored as a citizen now that the president has stared into one camera to issue his carefully calibrated admission and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has stared into another to deflate that admission? No, because I never thought this whole matter was about us citizens.
It’s just another form of political gamesmanship.
Do I worry that the presidency has been tarnished? No, in my lifetime I have seen President Kennedy murdered, President Johnson driven from office, President Nixon revealed as petty, President Carter treated as a fool, President Reagan treated as wise, and President Bush abandoned.
Do I think democracy has been served? No, demolishing leaders isn’t the same as holding them accountable. Ringing the White House with TV cameras doesn’t promote an informed public. Neither does instant analysis by the carefully coifed, who mistake leaks and”unnamed sources”for serious inquiry.
Is our nation on more solid ground now that sex has diverted us from all else? No, the Japanese economy is still in free-fall, the stock market bubble still seems about to burst, bombs are still exploding in Africa and Northern Ireland, Iraq is still stonewalling, drugs are still flowing across our borders, and lawyers are still billing $300 an hour while schoolteachers earn $20 and day-care workers $5.
Will we honor the president’s request for privacy? Of course not. The residents of Martha’s Vineyard must shudder as cameras descend on them in search of the stray tear on Hillary’s cheek or the visible collapse of Chelsea’s illusions about Dad.
Am I offended by the expense of this political sideshow? No, as my old alcoholic buddy Sam said,”I used to spill that much.” If I am offended by anything, it is the smirk on Kenneth Starr’s face and the removal of political matters to the arcane realm of courtroom lawyers.
Am I surprised by President Clinton’s admission? No, I never doubted his libido had led him astray. People who aspire to political power tend to be off-center to begin with. Having power corrupts them even more.
Do I feel betrayed? No. After five years of Lyndon Johnson and six of Richard Nixon, I no longer look to the White House for moral leadership.
In fact, I don’t look to Washington for much of anything. A city run by lobbyists and lawyers can’t be expected to have much positive impact on our lives.
Is America’s moral fiber being torn? I was interested in my 17-year-old son’s reaction to the president’s address Monday night. He’ll turn 18 in time to vote this November. He lasted 15 minutes and then said, with some disgust,”I’ve got homework to do.” What disgusted him? The entire show.
For that is all it was: a show. The breathless Tom Brokaw standing, he hoped, on the edge of history, the mock sincerity of a well-staged confession, the equally insincere efforts of Republicans and Democrats to spin that confession to their personal advantage, 14″typical citizens”being consulted for their feedback and given nanoseconds to speak _ this was a show designed to fool the public, to lull us into thinking these events matter and are being handled by the wise and selfless.
If there is any danger afoot, it lies in the assumption that we, the people, are fools and can be duped. Sex in the Oval Office is nothing compared to the arrogance of that assumption and the deceit that flows from it. Having discounted our wisdom and trivialized our interests, politicians won’t hesitate to sell government favors to the highest bidders, or to send our sons and daughters into wars that have no substance, or to dismantle the few things government does well, like build highways and regulate otherwise predatory industries.
It is, of course, a tragedy when a leader’s flaw undoes him. But it is dangerous when government in a democracy falls into the hands of professional politicians who have contempt for the citizenry.
DEA END EHRICH
