The Daily’s editorial board has steadfastly refused to voice an official stance on whether President Clinton should be impeached based on the information in Kenneth Starr’s report because we are, like many other Americans, sick of hearing about the whole affair. Stories of the president having sex in the Oval Office have little place on the national stage or in the media. It’s like listening to your parents telling you about their sex life — it’s awkward, embarrassing, and no one wants to hear it. Yet some people have complained, so once — and only once — we present our position.
Did President Clinton do something immoral? Yes. Did he break the law? Probably. Should he be impeached? No.
Many who argue that the president should be impeached claim that such extreme measures are necessary because President Clinton has lost the respect of the American public and the world at large. Take a moment to think about what he did.
The President of the United States received sexual favors from a woman less than half his age. When people found out, he denied it. Is this an embarrassment for the president? If anything, it is fairly impressive. Not many 50-year-old men can find a young woman willing to give them some action. The only embarrassment here is that President Clinton committed his infidelity with Monica Lewinsky. It is time to be brutally honest — the President of the United States should have better taste. John F. Kennedy had Marilyn Monroe. Monica is no Marilyn. With the likes of Sharon Stone visiting the White House, President Clinton certainly could have done a little better.
But, say the attackers, he has lost credibility abroad, which is embarrassing the entire country. Indeed, we have become something of a laughingstock around the world, but not because of the president’s actions. The world mocks us because the prurient, yet puritan, Congress is making such a fuss over the president’s sex life. Citizens and leaders of other countries realize that political leaders are still human and a minor indiscretion should be neither a surprise nor the business of the public. As far as world leaders are concerned, the president’s personal life has little effect on his ability to lead domestically and internationally.
Yet none of this has anything to do with whether he should be impeached because the issue is a simple legal matter. When they crafted the Constitution, the Founding Fathers provided a method for removing federal officers who have committed “high Crimes and Misdemeanors” against the United States. Things like cheating during an election, selling arms to rebel groups in other countries without congressional approval, accepting bribes and giving national secrets to foreign governments are all crimes against the United States that threaten to undermine our democracy. Offenses like jaywalking, speeding, smoking marijuana and committing perjury in a civil case are not.
President Clinton broke the law by lying under oath. He acted immorally by cheating on his wife. Yet none of these are impeachable offenses. It would be appropriate for the courts to pursue prosecution on perjury charges once the president is out of office, but in the meantime, let him keep doing a good, if not great, job as the leader of the free world.