_______________HE SHOULD STAY BY KATE MOSES AND HE SHOULD GO BY ANDREW ROSS (08/19/98)

"For a politically brilliant man who was only too well aware of the vicious enemies he had, and of the sex-scandal eruptions he had narrowly escaped in the past, for such a man to have committed his brazen and repeated offenses in the White House surely renders him unfit for the highest office in the land." In this sentence, Andrew Ross sums up Clinton's situation perfectly, though I would quibble with his tangential invocation of impeachment as an option. (Ditto for Salon's use of an "Impeach Bill" placard photo to accompany Ross' piece.) If perjury -- and more to the point, this particular act of perjury, related to the specious Jones lawsuit -- is the worst offense Ken Starr can conclusively pin on Bill Clinton, Starr should pack up and go home. Clinton should not be impeached. He should resign, and get his butt whupped by the history books. A professional politician who seemingly spent his life grooming himself for this ultimate job, Bill Clinton deserves no pity -- personally or professionally -- for being implicated in Starr's admittedly desperate and wrong-headed attack campaign. His 1992 introduction to the national arena produced such a catty response from the newly scandal-tuned mainstream press that Clinton, whatever his gubernatorial peccadilloes, should have been smart enough to acclimate himself to his new position on the media food chain. (He also must have known how the GOP, rapacious and bitter over the fall of the Reagan-Bush dynasty, was determined to ruin his presidency using any means necessary.) That Clinton has shown himself too ignorant or immature to censure his own behavior in the face of those factors makes him a sad leader of the Democratic Party, and a lousy president for two more days, let alone years. The country has enjoyed terrific prosperity under Clinton's leadership -- but that leadership, previously tenuous, has ended no matter whether he leaves office early. It's unlikely that he will ever be remembered as more than a horny good ol' boy whose flaws (magnified by his enemies) proved his undoing. "It's time to get back to work," he says, by which the chief executive means to ask the nation for a second (or third, or fourth) chance. Hard cheese, I say. If Bill Clinton gave a damn about his party or the country, he'd step down and give Gore a head start on 2000 (without which, he'll probably lose). If he gave a damn about his family, he'd resign and gradually fade into grateful obscurity. But if he cared about either of those things, he wouldn't have dropped trou in the first place. -- Erich Van Dussen Rochester, N.Y. I found Kate Moses' article on why President Clinton should stay in office utterly ridiculous! The reason that Clinton should leave the office of president is not because he betrayed his family. Even if you don't believe that strong moral character is an important requirement for the leader of the most powerful nation in the world, it is obvious that this issue goes much deeper than a marital infidelity. Clinton abused his office when he had sex with someone who worked for him. He then proceeded not only to lie about it under oath, but to the American press and public for months on end. He now refuses to take any responsibility for his actions. He's a petulant little boy who is not sorry for what he's done, just sorry that he got caught. Let's put this in perspective: If I had sex with someone in my office, I'd probably get fired. If I had sex in my office with a subordinate who was half my age, I would definitely get fired. If I committed perjury, I would go to jail. Why are the rules any different for Clinton? -- Kelly Schiffling I would submit that perjury does constitute a high crime. The ability of the court to compel honest testimony is a foundation of our justice system. That the circumstances of this crime make it seem trivial is irrelevant. -- Charles Moore Regarding Kate Moses' essay, yesterday a few of my male colleagues and I were chit-chatting about the president's four-minute mea culpa. I noticed that each of us had the same reaction to the speech and, more interestingly, each of our female partners had the same reaction. Our girlfriends and wives all said pretty much what your article said -- men cheat, Hillary is a strong feminist for sticking by him. I don't get it. For the past 20 years we men have been trying to unlearn the screwed up way we were raised to treat women -- in marriage and in the workplace. Women and thoughtful men were instrumental in teaching us this lesson. Now Clinton transgresses not just the rules about infidelity, but also workplace sexual harassment, and he gets a pass. -- Dave Forrester Thanks a bunch for Andrew Ross' insights on the stupid sex scandal. I feel like I'm becoming a right-wing conservative fascist in my approaching middle age, but the bottom line is that this has diminished me, and diminished everyone. Thanks for getting it right. -- Peggy Jenkins Leong N E X T+P A G E+| Let's call for the posthumous resignation of all adulterous presidents!