Clinton's Mea Sorta by ZACK NGUYEN Wednesday August 19, 1998 Bill Clinton's speech Monday night was a strange combination of retreat and naked aggression. In the end, no apology was forthcoming, even though he more or less admitted to lying to his family, his staff, the media and the American people for seven straight months. It brings to mind the last person on earth to whom Clinton would like to be compared -- Richard Nixon. Neither man could find it in himself to admit he was wrong. Nixon, however, was a mere shadow of what Clinton has become.

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Bill Clinton's mea sorta speech did not go over well. Editorials across the country condemned it as a calculated attempt to give away as little as possible while inflicting as much damage on his enemies as he could. The media has finally become dimly aware that Clinton and his minions have been feeding them horse manure by the truckload for months. And if the media turns against him completely, then it is hard to see how Clinton can find his way out of this. With blood in the water, even Republicans who possess the backbones of jellyfish will be puffed with enough confidence to hold Clinton accountable. Clinton's speech wasn't short on content, though only a few select passages were in any way truthful. As always, Clinton finds it easier to continue to lie -- to tell larger, more damaging, more extravagant lies -- than to tell the truth... Clinton (concerning the grand jury session): "I answered their questions truthfully, including questions about my private life." This is a lie. Clinton did not answer the questions truthfully. Leaks from the Grand Jury indicate that Clinton's answers were directly contradicted by previous testimony, that he flatly refused to answer some direct questions and took several "breaks" to confer with his attorneys. One of these "breaks" lasted for a solid hour. Clinton: "As you know, in a deposition in January, I was asked questions about my relationship with Monica Lewinsky. While my answers were legally accurate, I did not volunteer information." This is a lie. Clinton claimed in January that he did not have a relationship with Monica Lewinsky. On Monday night, he said he did. He committed perjury. Clinton: "In addition, I had real and serious concerns about an independent counsel investigation that began with private business dealings 20 years ago." This is a lie. There are no "private business dealings" when the participants are under suspicion of having committed serious crimes. The savings and loan Clinton is accused of having had "dealings" with went belly up, costing the taxpayers millions. Not only is Clinton accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in "loans" from friendly banks that were never repaid, but he is also accused of pressuring David Hale to grant him an illegal loan from a company backed by the Small Business Administration, which involves more taxpayer money. Neither of these business dealings sound very "private" to me. Clinton: "Now, this matter is between me, the two people I love most: my wife and our daughter and our God." An outrageous lie. Bill Clinton lied under oath, which makes it a matter for the judicial system. He lied on camera to all of America, which makes it the business of all Americans. And for Clinton to invoke the sacred name of God in association with this cover-up is possibly the most disgusting thing he has ever done in his entire life. It is revolting. Clinton: "Even presidents have private lives. It is time to stop the pursuit of personal destruction and the prying into private lives and get on with our national life." A pathetic lie. President's do have private lives, but when they gallivant around with 21-year-old interns, risking the country's security and lying about it under oath, it is no longer private. It is not time to stop prying into the President's "private life" until he is punished for what he has done. Clinton: "Now it is time... in fact, it is past time, to move on." Here is a bald-faced attempt at manipulating public opinion without regard to the facts. It is not time to move on until Starr's report is sent to Congress and until the president's crimes have been uncovered for the world to see. One must wonder what the president's staff is thinking right now. After all, it is they, not him, who have been going before television cameras for months on end, ridiculing Starr, claiming the president did not lie, and, even if he did commit perjury, acting as if it's not all that big of a deal anyway. Not that any sympathy should be given to them. They knew exactly who they were working for and knew they were promoting lies the very moments they uttered them. WorldNet Daily has reported that Starr's report is over 500 pages long, and Monica Lewinsky does not come up until around page 400. If so, this is certainly bad news for Clinton. It means his Monday night address was a tremendous waste of political capital. After admitting to having had an affair with Lewinsky and then proceeding to attack Ken Starr with the same rhetoric his minions have been using for months, I'd say the biggest missile in his silo is now launched. This leaves him with few options for countering the other 400 pages in Starr's anxiously awaited report. Also, it is being reported that Starr didn't even touch on the Monica Lewinsky matter until the last half hour of Clinton's testimony on Monday. If accurate, it is hard to understand what Clinton hopes to gain by apologizing for a relatively minor crime in his kaleidoscope of offenses. Last night, America looked into the heart of Bill Clinton and found... nothing. There is nothing there. No honor, no integrity, no truthfulness. Only lies, prevarications, distortions and a total disdain for all that is American. If Bill Clinton survives this, then the rule of law is finished, and America as a bastion of republican government is finished. Clinton must be forced to leave, either through resignation or impeachment. Then, and only then, can America begin to heal itself of the wounds inflicted on it by Bill Clinton and those who defend him. The historical legacy of Bill Clinton should be one of dishonor. Impeachment must occur. No other end to this saga is acceptable to our national honor, because the future of our freedom is at stake. If one President can get away with breaking the law, than a dozen after him can -- with even more dire consequences.

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