Perspective on Whitewater.

The business of government is governing. That in a few words was the subtext of President Bill Clinton's March 24 news conference; he defended what his administration has so far accomplished and laid out the major legislative efforts that await, especially health-care and welfare reform. In the executive branch a firmer grip on foreign policy; a surer sense of military strategy, and with it budgeting; and a sustained balancing of a jobs policy and a trade policy--all of these matters require serious presidential leadership. But if that was the subtext, inevitably Mr. Clinton' s text was Whitewater. Here he tried to fill in some blanks, offer some perspective, and, once again, assert that he and Mrs. Clinton are innocent of the allegations that swirl around them. In the succinct phrase of Mark Shields ("MacNeil-Lehrer Newshour"), Clinton defended himself without being defensive. Mr. Clinton wants to govern. Will Congress and the media let him? Their institutional responsibilities for oversight and public information also entail responsibilities to act fairly and to maintain perspective.

It is now a given of the Whitewater affair that Mr. and Mrs. Clinton have brought this mess upon themselves. Trying to avoid answering questions about their financial and political affairs in Arkansas, they first claimed innocence and pleaded privacy; when that failed to persuade, they tried candor while seeming to practice damage control. Files related to the Clintons' Whitewater investments were removed from Vincent Foster' s office after his suicide. White House aides had conversations with officials from the Treasury and Justice Departments about the investigations of Whitewater and the collapse of Madison Guaranty. New allegations about Arkansas loans as well as Justice Department stonewalling have emerged from the investigations of special counsel Robert Fiske and Congressman James Leach (R-Iowa). As a result, accusations of a cover-up have been added to the Whitewater dispute. New questions, their merit unevaluated, emerge every day. None of this is going away soon.

Until the report of the special counsel is completed and the promised congressional hearings are held, Whitewater will stay on the front pages and absorb a good deal of attention, at least in Washington. If indeed the Clintons brought this mess upon themselves, they have been ably assisted by a media free-for-all and the hyperbolic insinuations of some Republicans. Whatever the substance of the charges--and to date innuendo far exceeds reliable testimony and solid evidence--the prospect of protracted and inconclusive congressional hearings h la Iran-contra and Hill-Thomas is dispiriting indeed.

Of course, to clear the air, if it is to be cleared, the investigations and the hearings must proceed. But the real work of Washington cannot be put on hold while these continue. If the legitimacy of this presidency and its agenda is not to be completely eroded, Mr. Clinton should proceed, as promised, with the business of governing. And Congress and the media should strive to practice the same level of responsibility and accountability they have demanded of the first family.