LOWERING THE BAR : THE FIRST LADY CLAIMS A RIGHT-WING CONSPIRACY. THE WHITE HOUSE DEFENSE STRATEGY IS TO OBFUSCATE. OUR NATION'S HIGHEST-RANKING ELECTED OFFICIAL IS OUR MOST VISIBLE EMBARRASSMENT.

Byline: Matthew N. Klink

I must admit it: I'm part of the right-wing conspiracy alleged by Hillary Clinton against her husband . . . and I'm proud of it.

President Clinton, through his utter contempt of the American people, his cleverly disguised disrespect of women and the belief that so long as his policies are successful, he can do anything in his personal life, has irreparably harmed the institution of the presidency. And history, while it may look favorably on the Clinton years in terms of the economy, jobs produced, etc., will also judge Clinton poorly for his lack of candor and his do-what-I-say-not-what-I-do approach to his personal life. In sum, Clinton has permanently lowered the bar in terms of making character a presidential qualification.

Give Clinton credit: He is the master of public relations spin.

Like no other president in history, he has the unique ability to look the American people in the eye, using the television camera as his medium, and feel their pain. He also knows that through the use of third-party surrogates, he can effectively attack his opponents, in particular Kenneth Starr, question the ongoing investigations (plural) into the Clinton White House and, by successfully manipulating the media, keep his hands clean while making himself smell like roses.

Most recently, he has re-enlisted longtime Clinton supporters and 1992 Clinton campaign ring leaders James Carville and Paul Begala. Both have appeared on national television to convince the American public that it is Starr, not the president, who is out of control and must be stopped. The motley crew of Carville and Begala have gone out of their way to wrongly attack the independent counsel, impugn the integrity of Starr's staff and question the fundamental necessity of a process sanctioned by Clinton-appointed Attorney General Janet Reno, all under the all-encompassing blanket of First Amendment protection.

In truth it is the White House - led by former ``journalist'' Sidney Blumenthal, chief spinmeister Mike McCurry, political attorney Lanny Davis and others - that has utilized a joint defense strategy, where the ever-growing Clinton legal team debriefs all White House personnel questioned by the grand jury, subsequently leaks information to the press and then blames the leaks on Starr's office. These ill-intended actions are nothing more than an attempt to obfuscate, confuse and damage Starr's investigation and further shield the president from having to tell the truth.

The sad part of this entire episode is that Clinton, at least so far, has gotten away with it. Shocking as it may seem, members of the public and the press corps and presidential spokesmen have even questioned whether it is anyone's business if the president has or continues to have affairs, because as you know, infidelity pervades society. If we truly do not care about the president's fidelity and truthfulness, the American public must come to grips with the fact that we hold Army sergeants, Navy fighter pilots and CEOs of private corporations to a higher ethical standard of conduct than we do the president of the United States - America's top CEO.

Maybe I'm naive, but America deserves a president who places a premium on telling the truth first, not one who tells us why something is a lie and delays telling the American public the complete story because his poll numbers haven't dropped yet. America deserves a president who holds himself and others to the highest possible ethical standards. This country deserves a president who focuses on affairs of state rather than on having affairs in the Oval Office.

In his first inauguration address, Clinton promised people the most ethical administration in American history. What we've witnessed over the past five years is the most unethical, most investigated and most prosecuted administration in our nation's history. These moral failings begin with Clinton and work their way down from the top, touching many in the Clinton administration. And, as with much concerning character in the Clinton White House, the president's response, time-in and time-out, is that he is a victim.

For the past five years, we have witnessed the wholesale diminishment of presidential authority and the demeaning of the office of the presidency. We have seen America's position in the world plummet to new lows. Clinton supporters may point to the president's all-time-high personal popularity ratings as a justification for his actions, but history will prove them wrong. And, contrary to what the president may say, character does matter. Our nation's highest-ranking elected official should serve as the nation's most shining star, not as its most visible embarrassment.

If these views make me a co-conspirator, then I'm guilty as charged.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

PHOTO (1--Color) no caption (Vernon Jordan)

(2--Color) no caption (Bill Clinton)

(3--Color) no caption (Hillary Clinton

Associated Press