Maine Seenby Brenda Haskell |
Posted 9/12/98
All across America, the citizenry awaits the details of the
Starr Report to Congress. I, for one, do not need to hear the
titillating details of the sexual waywardness of this country's
top politician. We've been flooded with this for over seven
months. Enough already! My opinion has been formed for some time
and if media accounts are accurate, can it get much worse than
making foreign Heads of State wait, or having public figures
staged, unmercifully in Clinton's web? I feel Americans have been
dragged far enough into the gutter.
The public seems to be demanding an end to this embarrassing,
political farce. If a summary report is necessary, (but really,
on the Internet?), so be it. Then, can we please get on with the
business of running the country, other than into the ground? We
don't need to go so low that Al Gore will be made out as a hero,
the one who puts America back on track. As far as I'm concerned,
birds of a feather flock together. Not that the Vice President
has followed in Clinton's dalliances, but rather, that I question
his ethics and sense of integrity simply by association. We are
after all, yet to hear of his campaign finance fiasco, and are
feeling the burdens of his premise of Earth in the Balance.
The American public has been jerked around long enough. President
Clinton while engaged in extra-marital affairs has also
simplified the duties of office by writing Executive Orders. As
one of his aides was overheard saying, "Stroke of the pen,
law of the land? Pretty cool." What? We all remember the
Clinton, Gore, Babbitt deal over tying up Escalante,Utah's land
and coal fields as an National Historic Monument (or was it a
campaign finance pay-off to Indonesia?) The Al Gore, Carol
Browner, Katy McGinty triangle may not include sex, however the
Congress-skirted American Heritage Rivers Initiative borders on
rape of the private property rights in 30 watersheds across the
country. As if this were not enough, Executive Order 13083,
titled "Federalism" attempts to broaden federal
bureaucratic influence without gubernatorial or state legislative
approval.
If the world's political climate was more stable, I'd say keep
Clinton in office, let him suffer the consequences and
embarrassment, because I'm not ready for a fresh head of state to
perpetuate what our current one has exemplified. It "takes
one to know one" and the pen is obviously mightier than the
sword. Al Gore will be no better, but perhaps an opportunity to
see him in action before the 2000 elections would be good. What
ever happened to Integrity? Morals? Ethics? Statesmanship? The
Constitution? The American public would be better off demanding
these, rather than the contents of reports that might need an
"X" rating. Can we focus on the elections now? Our
votes can't wait. The pen can be mightier than the sword.
Brenda Haskell is a coastal Maine native who moved from her farm to the north woods. She views the Maine scene from a variety of intertwining perspectives. She is currently with the Maine Conservation Rights Institute. bhaskell@telplus.net |