Frankly, I am not sure that Clinton is capable of committing perjury. To perjure oneself is to lie, and lying is, minimally, affirming that which one knows not to be the case and thereby representing oneself as believing that which was affirmed. (The latter clause is to distinguish lying from telling a joke or reporting the contents of campaign speech.)
Lying can exist only within a context of general truth-telling, for if it were not typically the intention of speakers to convey their belief that X when they utter the sentence "X," they could not act to deceive listeners by saying "X" when they believe that not-X. It is by no means obvious, though, that this is the context within which Clintonspeak operates. Rather than deploying language as a vehicle for expressing truths, Clinton will say whatever he deems best suited to serve his interests.
Thus, all that can legitimately be inferred from one of his remarks is that saying it is more useful than not saying it. No belief imputations are licit, and so he cannot be accused of representing himself as affirming that which he in fact knows to be false. Admittedly, this analysis is speculative, but perhaps it creates enough elbow room for reasonable doubt.
Congressional interrogators bent on pursuing impeachment will have to supply justifications of their attempt to bench this quarterback. These, predictably, will be complex and verbose. Voters, though, are at liberty to cast their ballots any way they want for any reason they want. There is, then, an articulation gap between solons and citizens. Pundits and pollsters earn their paychecks by professing clairvoyance concerning what is on the mind of the voting public. We have good reason to swallow their analyses with a healthy pinch of salt. I too have hunches concerning the electorate's stubborn fidelity to the Clinton presidency, and like others in the public domain it comes without warranty. So much by way of disclaimers; now the punditry.
Voters may support a candidate because they believe once in office he will do them some good. Alternatively, they may stand behind a candidate because they believe he will do less harm than the available alternatives. Harm avoiders are especially attractive when times are good. By any reckoning this side of the Michigan Militia, times are indeed good in 1990s America. The nation is the solitary colossus bestriding the world; we are at peace; economic growth is vigorous and non-inflationary; unemployment rests at essentially the zero level; the federal budget has entered the terra incognita of surplus.
Could things be yet better? Undoubtedly. It would be an extravagant effusion of optimism, however, to suppose that any of the presidential aspirants on offer would preside over that greater good. Mucking up is the more likely outcome. When you're on a winning roll it is folly to change the dice, and the American public has the good sense not to expect more from their political overseers than is currently being served up. If the cost of prosperity is a president lacking the traditional moral virtues, so be it.
The Starr inquiries have wounded Clinton. But they do not necessarily diminish his presidential utility. When dogs are whipped, sometimes they turn on their tormentor and bite. But others will grovel fulsomely, showing themselves all the more eager to please. This president is learning every trick he can to restore affections and ingratiate himself with the citizenry that employs him. If previously he was eager to please, slavishness now has become an obsession. Is this a man likely to reinvent himself as an adventurer? I think not. That isn't to say that Clintonism will always be in style. If Japan Inc. goes into receivership, Russia descends further into anarchy, or Alan Greenspan loses his magic touch at the Fed, the public is likely to reconsider. When winning streaks give way to snake eyes, it will call for a genuine leader, someone who conveys conviction, determination, a sense of knowing what needs to be done to escape the rut.
Such moods paved the way for the ascendency of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Lest we forget, it also delivered a dispirited Weimar Republic into the embrace of Adolf Hitler. It will be time enough to ponder the prospects and perils of assertive leadership when peace and prosperity enter into eclipse. In the meantime I join the sideline chant: Let Clinton be Clinton!
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