This thing came in the email and was unattributed, but I like it a lot, and we all need some clarity nowadays.
Anybody recognize it? This person needs to be a frontpager here!
We all need paradox in our diet. Fiber for the cognitive process. Hard to digest, moves the shit along...
Just to be clear on this, let's make sure we're all on the same page. Clinton was asked by a grand jury about consensual activities between two adults who are considered legally capable of making their own decisions.
The question had no bearing whatsoever on his ability to do his job as president. In fact, the vast majority of people who complain about Clinton are opposed to him not because of his activities, but because they think he's a bad person. And not just because he lied, but because of his sexual proclivities!
The simple fact is that he never should have been asked the question, because it had no bearing on anything. And because it was in front of a grand jury, he was denied his fifth amendment rights. So he did what any responsible man would do - he lied. Personally, I would simply refuse to answer, even though you're not permitted to do that, but either way you would be in trouble. I don't see that it makes much of a difference either way.
Finally, we expect our politicians to lie. It's why we hire them. Studies have shown that we elect presidents on the basis of whether we like their face and voice or not, not based on the issues, or party affiliations (although many if not most people do vote blindly along party lines - but that simply makes them predictable.)
Am I defending Clinton's lie? You bet. Do I think lying is wrong? Sure. But I think it's less wrong than asking him the question in the first place, and confronted with his situation, I don't think it was an unreasonable decision. The fact that we all expect politicians to lie from both sides of their mouth, but then we are willing to take someone to task for lying about a question of a personal nature that should never have been asked, is just the typical paradoxical bullshit that most people are willing to handwave away. I would rather wave my hands in other directions.
The ultimate wrong done here, of course, is the fact that there is any situation in which you can be denied your constitutional rights. But then, we are regularly denied them, so I guess people are simply used to that, too.