Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 19, 1994 TAG: 9401200317
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cal Thomas
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Integrity is the most important character quality a president can have, and by waiting so long to address concerns raised in many quarters, from editorial pages at traditionally liberal newspapers to members of his own party, the president has squandered what is left of his. When integrity dies, no amount of media manipulation, stonewalling or clever rhetoric can restore the public's trust.
A visit to the dictionary reveals the importance of this critical character trait. ``Integrity: an unimpaired condition; soundness; firm adherence to a code of especially moral ... values; incorruptibility; the quality or state of being complete or undivided.'' This definition does not fit either the president's or Mrs. Clinton's actions as they mounted a battle to keep information from the public about their past activities.
A ``damage control'' task force stayed in Washington during the president's European trip. But would there be damage to control if something was not amiss? When questionable actions are discovered, the best way to manage ``damage'' is by full disclosure.
The poet Alice Cary observed that ``True worth is in being, not seeming'' (italics hers). In his public life President Clinton has focused almost exclusively on seeming to be something that he clearly is not. On questions of personal rectitude and marital fidelity, he seems to be a man who is misunderstood and unjustly wronged by his political enemies for personal gain. But increasingly the public sees what he really is: a skillful manipulator who hides a classic liberal political agenda behind the facade of a moderate, even slightly conservative, churchgoing family man.
Before caving in on the matter of the special counsel, the president told Dan Rather, ``The most important thing to me and the most important thing to the American people is I'm completely relaxed about this because I didn't do anything wrong. ... ''
No, Mr. President, that is incorrect. Your relaxation level has nothing to do with it. Some people are cool enough to beat a polygraph test. Whether you and Mrs. Clinton are telling the truth is what is most important.
The president should have taken a lesson from an incident I recall when I was a reporter in Houston. Then-Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby had been stopped by a state police officer while driving in the early-morning hours in the Austin area. The police reported a woman was with him (he described her as a British ``journalist'') and that bottles containing alcoholic beverages were on the back seat. The story made the front pages of Texas newspapers, including the Houston Post, which was owned by the Hobby family. Hobby quickly pleaded guilty to a traffic violation, publicly apologized and the story was forgotten.
It is clear that quick and full disclosure remains the best method for politicians to safeguard their integrity. Early confession about Watergate misdeeds could have saved the Nixon administration from scandal and ultimately resignation. The cover-up, more than the unconfessed deeds, did in Nixon.
Former Education Secretary Bill Bennett has compiled a collection of works on integrity and honesty called ``The Book of Virtues.'' Today it sits atop the New York Times best-seller list, an indication that this is a subject large numbers of Americans care deeply about.
In his chapter on honesty, Bennett says, ``To be honest is to be real, genuine, authentic and bona fide. To be dishonest is to be partly feigned, forged, fake or fictitious. Honesty expresses both self-respect and respect for others. Dishonesty fully respects neither oneself nor others. Honesty imbues lives with openness, reliability and candor; it expresses a disposition to live in the light. Dishonesty seeks shade, cover or concealment. It is a disposition to live in the dark.''
Which of these descriptions most accurately reflects the attitude and behavior of President and Mrs. Clinton? Does this administration seem to prefer the darkness to the light because it has something to hide? Mr. and Ms. President, it's about time you came clean.
\ Los Angeles Times Syndicate
by CNB