Saratoga News Justice takes back seat to power and politics By M. Elaine Hocker 'With liberty and justice for all." Powerful words whose impact has become meaningless with 70 percent of our population declaring President Clinton should not be impeached for breaking a law for which, up until now, every other member of that population would have been held liable and penalized for breaking. Clinton's defense? He only lied about sex. No, Clinton should not be impeached for lying about Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Kathleen Willey or any of the other females. Nor should he be impeached for lying to his family, friends, staff and the public about his sexual endeavors. He should not be impeached for his continual lying about everything else since taking the presidential oath of office. Lies that failed to elicit any public or news media response until sex became the subject of his lies. Bill Clinton should be impeached because, quoting House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde, "The personal fate of the president is not the issue. The political fate of his party is not the issue. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is not the issue. The issue is perjury--lying under oath. The issue is obstruction of justice." Justice requires a standard and the "Oath" has been the standard for truth and the foundation upon which our whole judicial system has rested. Twice Bill Clinton raised his right hand and lied after taking the Oath: I swear before Almighty God, that the testimony I'm about to give is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." The low conviction rate for violating the Oath is not based on its insignificance, but based on its past perception of power within the legal community. A criminal defendant could lie about anything and everything and not be held liable before taking the Oath. Once the defendant took the Oath and had legal representation, then any lying could not only incriminate the defendant, but also any and all of those legally representing the defendant. The Oath is one of the reasons O.J. Simpson never took the stand in his own defense in his criminal trial. Until now, The Oath has stood for equal justice whether your status consisted of washing toilets or you were the President of the United States. The Senate will not carry out the House's vote for impeachment of Bill Clinton. Most of our elected representatives are more concerned about their political careers than preserving our country's laws and maintaining a system of justice. Bill Clinton is still in control and will remain in control as the most honest, sincere liar to ever set two feet on the face of this earth. His ability to manipulate the truth in whatever fashion he desires is a living testimony to the cliché that "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." That manipulation is reflected in a statement by Bill Clinton about President Nixon that appeared in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Aug. 6, 1974: "No question that an admission of making false statements to government officials and interfering with the FBI is an impeachable offense .... If a President of the United States ever lied to the American people, he should resign." There is no record of President Nixon lying under oath, and Clinton's statement about Nixon is true, but it is also true about our current president. M. Elaine Hocker is a Saratoga resident. [ Back to Contents Page | Saratoga News Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 13, 1999. ©1999 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.