THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 21, 1995 TAG: 9508180602
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Whitewater hearings in the House and Senate are on hold during the summer recess. Republicans have not yet proved President Clinton guilty of anything other than bad judgment, but they have produced a nasty web of circumstantial evidence. However, the same mutual back scratching that was unattractive in Arkansas is as prevalent in Washington. Few are immune.
It is now abundantly clear that the Clinton's were unwise to enter into a potentially enriching land deal with a money manipulator on the make. They appear to have gotten more than they paid for in the Whitewater deal. Now they're getting more than they bargained for.
They were especially unwise to enter into a private deal with a man whose business was subject to regulation by public servants. Conflicts would seem to be inevitable. The Clintons may also be culpable of the classic Washington error, creating self-inflicted mortal wounds by trying to cover up venial sins.
At the heart of the matter once again are the S&Ls. The head of the Whitewater probe in the House, Rep. Jim Leach, said: ``Time after time in the 1980s, politicians posturing in public as defenders of the little guy found themselves in private advancing the interests of a small number of owners who ran their financial institutions, as one Madison employee told regulators, like a `candy store' for insiders.''
If Leach and other Whitewater investigators can show that Clinton committed a crime he should pay for it like anyone else. In such a case, he certainly should not seek reelection. It's already been shown that Clinton was as easygoing about the S&L mess as other officials who let it happen. And the Arkansas ethos was one of well-placed friends doing favors for well-fixed friends, fat cats getting government officials to give them a break or look the other way.
Unfortunately, this sort of bad behavior isn't confined to the 1980s, the S&L industry or Arkansas. Cozy relationships with campaign contributors are rife in Washington today. Regulations are being relaxed at the behest of the industries regulated, special interests are dictating legislation to contribution-accepting politicians. Oversight is a joke.
Clinton was wrong then, but plenty of other politicians are wrong now. Republicans may enjoy making Clinton squirm today, but 10 years from now how many of their actions will withstand scrutiny? How much will the votes they are now casting cost taxpayers? If Whitewater proves anything, it proves the wisdom of skeptical citizen groups - from Common Cause to United We Stand - who think campaign-finance and lobbying reforms are essential if clean government is ever going to be achieved.
Bills to fix the problem are being sponsored by freshmen Linda Smith, R-Wash., and Sam Brownback, R-Kan., in the House and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., and John McCain, R-Ariz., in the Senate. Tell your representatives in Congress to back the legislation and regard them with suspicion if they fail to do so. by CNB