August 23, 1998

President’s Mea Culpa Minima Is Short On Repentance

“I’m sorry.”

There, that’s not hard to say.

Yet, those two little words were missing from President Clinton’s mea culpa minima Monday night regarding his relationship with a star-struck intern in the White House.

Worse, there was no apology to Monica Lewinsky for betraying her adoration. Old fashion repentance would have gone a long way.

Critics say his four-minute speech to the nation was too short. Politically it was too long by half -- the last half that complained Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr made him do it.

Clinton started with the usual formula for subpoenaed witnesses; “I answered their questions truthfully.” However, the usual “and fully” stuck in his throat.

Next, he bravely declared: “I must take complete responsibility for all my actions.” As with all of Clinton’s admissions, we must parse his sentences carefully. “Must” implies a duty with which he does not agree. “Take” implies shouldering someone else’s responsibility. The manly confession would have been: “I took advantage of a young woman entrusted to me.”

Nonetheless, Clinton might have saved his presidency had he not closed by attacking Starr. “This has gone on too long, cost too much, and hurt too many innocent people.” Ignored was the president’s seven months of delay, deny and attack. There is a word for this kind of approach -- chutzpah. Brazenly blame someone else for your lies and obstructions. The most egregious double-talk was that relating to his January deposition in the Paula Jones” suit: “My answers were legally accurate.”

Back then, Clinton denied sexual relations with Lewinsky as defined by the court: “For the purposes of this deposition, a person engages in sexual relations when the person knowingly engages in or causes... contact with the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or buttocks of any person with an intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.”

Clinton then and now says Lewinsky touched his forbidden zones, but he did not touch hers. In addition, he claims he was not trying to gratify her.

Presumably we are expected to believe in a latter day immaculate reception -- that Clinton only shook hands with her. Aside from the self indulgent sex portrayed, it is this kind of reasoning that gives lawyers a bad name.

In the Jones deposition, Lewinsky denied a sexual affair with Clinton. When hauled before the Starr grand jury, however, she declared she performed oral sex on Clinton. Cornered by the same grand jury, Clinton also recanted his earlier deposition. He now admits his relationship with “that woman” was “inappropriate and wrong.”

Clinton ’s convoluted defense is a desperate attempt to escape the perjury box described in this space last week. Abetting the effort was his refusal to answer many grand jury questions, according to “sources” beloved by the beltway media.

Clearly, Starr could ask the supervising judge to hold Clinton in contempt and be fined or jailed. Or, Starr could really and truly subpoena the president. Either of these would be an unmistakable, constitutional crisis.

Nevertheless, we must know whose stain is on Monica’s dress? Who told her to return Clinton’s gifts? Why Clinton’s lawyer buddy lined up out-of-town jobs for Monica after she was subpoenaed?

More importantly, who obtained 900 unsubstantiated FBI files about Republicans? Who purloined Vince Foster’s Whitewater papers, and why? Who ordered a fruitless investigation of the civil service White House travel office? How did Hillary’s subpoenaed Whitewater billing records show up two years later in the White House living quarters?

It is the constitutional duty of Starr or Congress to call Clinton’s bluff.

Starr has been pressured by Congress to “wind this sucker up.” He could oblige and dump the crisis onto the House Judiciary Committee. This possibility gives congressional members wobbly knees.

Clinton has destroyed his presidency even if he manages to escape impeachment. He has lied repeatedly -- sometimes under court oath and sometimes by finger wagging on television. Aside from court oaths, the president of the United States is not an ordinary citizen. He is constantly under the oath taken upon inauguration: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully.... preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

High office and the Constitution demand high integrity. Perjury and obstructing justice fall short.

The honorable thing for Clinton to do is resign, but he has demonstrated a conspicuous lack of that precious commodity. Consequently, Congress will have to do its constitutional duty to consider impeachment.

Then, maybe, he will be sorry.

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers