Food for thought

This was originally posted to the Town Hall Forum (#3474) TO: MY DEMOCRAT FRIENDS FROM: MARK F. (THOR) HEARNE, II DATE: OCTOBER 11, 1996 RE: THE CASE FOR CHARACTER "Bill Clinton would rather climb a tree to tell a lie than stand on the ground to tell the truth." So said an Arkansas official familiar with Clinton on CNN during the 1992 presidential campaign. Democrat Senator Bob Kerry has said, "Clinton's an unusually good liar. Unusually good. Do you realize that?" Senator Kerry did not make this observation during the heat of a primary battle but this past January in Esquire Magazine. Kerry is not only a Democrat Senator but is a leader of his party and Chairman of the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee. Senator Kerry knows whereof he speaks. Forget what this says about Clinton - what does it say about us. We are told that Clinton is leading by a significant margin in his campaign to be our next president. (51% to Dole's 38% according to last week's Wall Street Journal/ABC poll.) We are told that "character" does not count. We are told that a candidate's "personal life" has no relevance to the office of President and has no "traction" as a political issue. Indeed, we are even made to feel ashamed for raising the issue. (On July 15th Clinton said, "I think character is a legitimate issue and I look forward to having that discussion." But, whenever the issue of character is mentioned Clinton dodges the discussion by claiming any question about his character is a viscous, Republican- motivated "personal attack.") Consider the current bestseller list. A list which includes an astounding number of books about the corruption which is the Clinton administration. Boy Clinton, Unlimited Access and Blood Sport are only a few. But let's concede Clinton the benefit of his denials and explanations. Even by this analysis, in the light most favorable to Clinton and taking only those facts Clinton has acknowledged and granting him his spin on these facts, Clinton is far and away the most dishonest president or presidential candidate in the history of our nation. Assume that only 10% of what these noted authors and a career FBI agent relate about Bill Clinton is valid. Assume that only 10% of the drug use, rampant promiscuity, financial fraud and blatant violation of state and federal law are accurate. Assume only 10% of the Wall Street Journal's four-year, two-volume documentation of Whitewater, Travelgate and FBI Filegate is not innuendo and conjecture. Assume that Clinton's unlikely explanation of Whitewater is correct. (It wasn't a crooked deal to funnel taxpayer guaranteed funds from a Savings and Loan into his political campaign. Rather, we are told, Bill and Hillary, naive in matters of money -- notwithstanding Hillary's wildly successful commodities speculation -- were duped by the crafty McDougalls into a foolish real estate investment scheme funded by kited checks and illegal loans. Frankly, even if valid, I fail to find any comfort in this explanation. Do we want a sharp crook or a financially unsophisticated waif in charge of our national economy?) Granted even these assumptions, impeachment should be likely, reelection unthinkable. Consider the following: Richard Nixon's administration collapsed, Nixon resigned the presidency and Chuck Colson was jailed over misuse of one FBI file and the related cover-up. By contrast, Clinton and Craig Livingstone spirited away FBI files on their political opponents by the hundreds and the cover-up and stone-walling continues. Spiro Agnew resigned the vice-presidency over charges of tax evasion stemming from $16,000 he accepted from contractors when he was Governor of Maryland. By contrast, Clinton has conceded that he filed misleading tax returns that did not properly disclose illegal loans made by a now-defunct S&L the proceeds of which were used in his campaign for Governor. The reason he is not charged with tax evasion is that he released the tax returns after the statute of limitations had expired. Equally well established is the fact that Hillary enjoyed more than $100,000 in "profits" steered to her from commodities trading orchestrated by Tyson Foods in exchange for favorable treatment accorded Tyson Foods by her husband the Governor. Gary Hart bowed out of the 1988 presidential race because of one wild weekend in the Bahamas and a sleep- over in Washington D.C.. By contrast, Clinton is being sued in federal court for enticing a young woman - against her wishes -- into his hotel room, dropping his trousers and suggesting she engage in a lurid sex act. Clinton's known sex-partners could form a single-file line longer than the inaugural parade route. (At least JFK was honest about his philandering. During a 1961 meeting in Bermuda with British Prime Minister Harold McMillian Kennedy said, "I wonder how it is with you, Harold? If I don't have a woman for three days, I get terrible headaches.") Ginsburg is not a member of the U.S. Supreme Court because he used marijuana during college. By contrast, during Clinton's term national drug use has doubled due to Clinton eviscerating drug enforcement. Remember also Josalyn Elders, Clinton's selection for Surgeon General. In addition to her crusade to distribute condoms (for which she earned the moniker "the Rubber Maid") and to have mast. taught in public schools, she campaigned for the legalization of drugs. During her term as Clinton's Surgeon General, Elders son was convicted of felony cocaine and crack distribution. (If she couldn't keep her own son from pushing crack, how could she be expected to reduce national drug use?) It is simply beyond belief that, with someone of Elder's views as his pick for the nation's chief medical officer, Clinton expects us to believe he truly wants to battle illegal drugs. On a personal level Clinton acknowledges that he used marijuana but claims he "didn't inhale". Yet in an MTV interview with high school students Clinton states that if he had it do over again he, "probably should have inhaled." Roger Clinton described his brother's appetite for cocaine by stating, "He (Bill Clinton) has a nose like a Hoover." (Referring to the vacuum cleaner not the president. who preceded Roosevelt.) But, we can discount this allegation because Roger Clinton, along with Friend Of Bill Dan Lasater, have been convicted of felony drug charges for the distribution of cocaine. (As an entry for the "How'd They Do That" file consider this: Roger Clinton served only two years for his cocaine distribution charges and Dan Lasater served only six months. Roger cut a deal wi