HUTCHINSON: GOP WINNING ETHICS WAR

Republicans were stung in the election that followed the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton, but the lone undisputable GOP hero of the proceedings predicts his party may be benefiting from a delayed reaction.

U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson says a new poll shows that 19 percent more people think Republicans are more honest and ethical than Democrats. He said those numbers were even two years ago.

"Littleton (Colo.) shows that values and morality are the Number 1 issue in America," he says.

Hutchinson, who represents a district in northwestern Arkansas, was the primary attraction Friday night at a fund-raising dinner and reception for U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau. More than 100 people attended the reception at the home of Dr. and Mrs. C.R. Talbert Jr., and 50 paid $250 per couple for a private dinner afterward.

The former federal prosecutor was widely lauded for his performance during the impeachment hearings and trial. In the aftermath, he has become one of the GOP's new stars.

"I'm still trying to figure it out," Hutchinson said of what to make of his newfound national recognition. "It increases the opportunity to influence the debate in Washington. But I'm not sure where it will lead."

He said he is not considering a run for national office. "Americans are not ready for another Arkansan on a national ticket," he joked.

The uproar over Republicans' defeat of Clinton's recent attempt to curb gun-show sales obscured what the House did pass out: $1.5 billion in federal money for the states to combat violent juvenile crime, Hutchinson said.

"We need to deal with what causes juvenile crime, what brings people into violent episodes," Hutchinson said.

Emerson talked about the need "to restore a sense of civility to this country." He said, "We need to figure out what's missing, why the culture is encouraging kids to do these things."

In the next session, she also wants to see a focus on revitalizing rural America, which she said has been neglected by Congress.

Emerson also is concerned that low-income people are falling between the cracks of the health-care system. She wants small businesses to be able to deduct 100 percent of their cost of providing health care to employees. She also favors a non-refundable tax credit for the cost of health insurance for those who have none.

Most of the rancor that surfaced in Congress during Clinton's impeachment has subsided by now, Emerson says. "Congress isn't as bad as everybody says it is. The leadership on both sides is always fighting. That is part of their job."

A number of the impeachment principals, including select committee Chairman Henry Hyde, are writing books about the episode. Hutchinson won't write one because he doesn't want to appear to be benefiting from the proceedings.

He shrugs when asked why he thinks Clinton wasn't convicted.

"The story is still yet to be written," he said.