Spewing Poison Is Lawsuit’s Aim Give It A Rest The Real Scandal Is Media’s Love Of Scandal.

It’s sad to think that anyone would file suit against a president, or any other high ranking official, to intentionally discredit them. But that is exactly what the Paula Jones case is about.

If the public can be led to believe that any governor could dispatch state troopers to deliver women to him - and get away with it for more than a decade - the public would believe anything. Forget that these troopers have their own checkered past, which includes wrecking a state patrol car at 3 a.m., then lying to escape discipline. (Even though they later testified in a civil suit that they drank a half dozen whiskeys before the accident at a Little Rock lounge.)

Politics drives partisans to trumpet unproven accusations just to disable their opponent. Why else would anyone question the Clintons’ retrieval of their personal tax records from Vincent Foster’s office after he committed suicide? Foster was their tax lawyer and those files were the personal property of the Clintons.

Would there be the same outrage from Democrats if Newt Gingrich’s tax attorney had committed hari-kari? And Gingrich had insisted that his tax files be returned to him? Yes. Because Democratic Rep. David Bonior would be right there to make sure the whole thing seemed dishonest.

And how would the public know the sordid details? Because the media have become such suckers for scandal.

A topless dancer shows up at the home of a football star, then goes to the cops with saucy and incredibly damaging allegations. Page one news. But the scandalmongering isn’t just confined to sports or political celebrities. Remember the guy with a repressed memory who miraculously recalled being molested by Cardinal Bernardin? Page one news. And even though it turned out to be a lie the damage was done - which is exactly the point.

If the Paula Jones suit goes forward, and unproven accusations are reported dutifully by a press enamored of scandal, what will be next? The gay lover of Bill Clinton?

It’s time to provide some cover for our country’s top leaders. Bill Clinton is not going to leave the country. He’ll be here for that civil suit after his term has ended and the scandal factor is gone. Delaying frivolous civil suits will only take the steam out of the gold diggers, remove one poisonous political tool from the blind partisans and through default keep the media honest. Stop it now.

, DataTimes MEMO: For opposing view, see headline: President isn’t above the law

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