SEN. ASHCROFT CALLS FOR CLINTON'S DEPARTURE; BOND AWAITS REPORT

U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft has called for President Clinton to resign.

Ashcroft's remarks come on the heels of Clinton's grand jury testimony and Monday night's televised speech to the nation.

Abandoning months of denial, Clinton admitted to a grand jury and the American people that he had an inappropriate relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

"Now that the president has admitted the allegations are true, the honorable act is to resign the presidency so the nation can properly heal from the wounds he has inflicted," Ashcroft said Tuesday.

"The president missed his opportunity last night to rebuild his moral authority and regain his credibility," Ashcroft said from Washington.

"In effect, the president has resigned already," said Ashcroft. "Continuing to blame others for his problems, refusing to testify fully and delaying would only prolong the crisis and further damage the country," he said.

Ashcroft's fellow Republican senator from Missouri, Christopher Bond, said in brief remarks that Clinton's speech wouldn't satisfy either supporters or opponents.

Bond said Clinton didn't address the allegations that he abused his office in the Lewinsky matter or other areas of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation such as Whitewater and the White House travel office issue.

Bond said he would reserve judgment until Starr presents a report on the investigation's findings to Congress.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson also took that position. But she said she was disappointed that Clinton didn't apologize to the American people.

"I don't feel he apologized either to the American people or his family, and I didn't feel he was contrite enough about it," said Emerson, who watched the president's speech from her Cape Girardeau home.

"The president has obviously lied to the public," said Emerson. "It does not say good things about the presidency. It casts a real cloud over the presidency," she said.

"Instead of accepting the blame, he ended up throwing the blame back on Ken Starr," Emerson said.

By mid-afternoon, Emerson's offices in Cape Girardeau and Washington had received about 40 calls from constituents. Most wanted Clinton to resign.

Political scientist Dr. Peter Bergerson said Clinton's four-minute speech was couched in legal wording.

Bergerson, chairman of the political science department at Southeast Missouri State University, said he wished Clinton would have said he was "sorry" for the pain and suffering he had caused.

Bergerson said he believes one of Clinton's prime objectives in giving the speech was to try to bring an end to Starr's investigation. "His strategy is to try to put it behind him," said Bergerson.

But Clinton has virtually no political clout, he said. "I think in the short term, there is no question that he is a political eunuch," Bergerson said.