| The Average American's Case For Impeachment by MARK WATKINS Wednesday September 16, 1998 There are times when we -- let's call ourselves "the average American" -- must step forward and reclaim our place as the person in charge. This is such a time. If the average American had done what Bill Clinton is alleged to have done, he would have been (1) fired from his job, (2) arrested, (3) incarcerated until trial, (4) tried, (5) convicted, (6) sentenced to several years in prison and (7) divorced. |
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I shall not define just what "the average American" is. That's half the reason the country is in such a mess. What has not been confounded by legalese has been corrupted by political correctness. So let the lawyers leave the room and let PC hang. We know who we are and we know right from wrong. At the very least, the average American believes and teaches his child the following precepts: 1. He should not lie. 2. He should not cheat. 3. He should not harm others. The average American also teaches his children that if they commit these offenses, they will be punished: spanked, grounded, given "time out," restricted, or whatever. According to Ken Starr's referral to Congress: 1. The President lied. 2. The President cheated. 3. The President harmed others. Bill Clinton is not a child. Punishing "the most powerful man in the world" requires more than disconnecting his cable TV for a week. So what do we do? Consider the options. If it is true that "high crimes and misdemeanors" are what Congress says they are, then Congress could assess the Presidential death penalty -- i.e., impeachment. Further, some legal experts believe, once the President is out of office he may be prosecuted for his crimes. And finally there is perhaps the ultimate punishment for any adulterer: divorce. Two other options are being examined on the Hill: censure and resignation. Censure, apparently, is a formal ass-chewing. As for resignation, there is no Constitutional provision for it, yet Nixon resigned to avoid an impeachment trial. Given these options, which do we choose? Not censure. Censure is an expedience, vacant and suspicious: vacant because it lacks the weight of law and suspicious because it could conveniently leave untouched the pension, expense accounts and other perks that await former Presidents. And not resignation. Resignation may be the ultimate expedience, for it lets the coward off too easily. The choice must be impeachment. It is clearly the least expedient option, but it also happens to be the right (and lawful) thing to do. Let the Congress impeach, let the President defend himself and let the Senate decide. Besides, who's to say Clinton gets convicted? O.J. walked, didn't he? |
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