MISSOURI COMMENTARY: IN THE IMPEACHMENT ACADEMY AWARDS, THERE ARE PLENTY OF LOSERS

Thank God Almighty, it's over. At times it seemed George Armstrong Custer was directing events.

First, the major losers.

Losers

Bill Clinton. He joins Andrew Johnson and Richard Nixon on the all-time impeachment and near-impeachment list. Before Clinton celebrates too profusely, he should reflect that he was saved by the Dow Jones average and, in the words of one writer, "by people who were defending the presidency from people who are even worse than he is." We already know the first paragraph in future reference books' biographies of the president: "Clinton, William Jefferson. 42nd President of the United States (1993-2001). The first elected president to be impeached. The second president (after Andrew Johnson) to be impeached ... "

Henry Hyde. There is something to be said for compulsory retirement at age 70. To be sure, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Averell Harriman, Robert Byrd, and Ronald Reagan did (or in Byrd's case, are doing) themselves proud in advanced years. Most likely, we would have missed them if they had gone home to smell the roses at some arbitrary retirement age.

If we are to recognize the good that old men may well do, we must also recognize the harm that old men can do. Henry Hyde wasn't the man we once perceived. It was Hyde who decided to adopt Ken Starr as the sole definer of the facts. No witnesses were necessary. In the Senate, he argued witnesses were vital and left out the one witness, Betty Currie, who was essential to the obstruction of justice charge. Hyde became an avenger pursuing a second-rate case. His Congressional seat is not in jeopardy, but his reputation is.

Ken Starr. Once Starr was a cinch for the Supreme Court to be appointed by the next Republican president. Now he in the shadow of Hamilton Berger. He will make lots of money. He will smile in the driveway and hold his coffee cup. Marcia Clark, another big league loser, will sympathize with his plight. He will join Ollie North on the zealot talk circuit. He may now be even too hot for Pepperdine.

Starr is himself now a subject of Justice Department investigation. He may learn the truth of Macchiavelli's adage that he who strikes a blow at the prince must be sure to kill him or suffer the consequences.

Linda Tripp. Words are not necessary. "A friend in need, is a friend to deceive" is the Tripp legacy.

Jerry Falwell and the Christian Right. Old Jerry is now off on a new pursuit to purge children's television of a purplish colored space man. At least Pat Robertson had the sense to acknowledge the handwriting on the wall. Falwell states that "the honorable thing was for Clinton to resign." Perhaps the honorable thing would be for Falwell to hang up the old sermon.

Bob Barr. In all of life, hate is a much stronger motivation than love. Barr reminds us once again of human frailty.

William "Outrage" Bennett. I remember his confirmation hearing in the Senate when he was nominated for Secretary of Education. The committee had prepared a list of important, sensitive questions on educational policy: national educational standards, busing, vouchers, etc. To each he answered, "This is an important issue. I want to give it careful study when I become Secretary." Within days of taking office, Bennett was self-righteously pontificating on these and all other educational issues.

With the same facile dexterity, Bennett now fashions himself as the apostle of truth. The country's response to the Clinton scandal has left him to accuse the nation of a lack of outrage when perhaps we have actually displayed a sense of proportion.

Newt Gingrich and Bob Livingston. Gingrich authored the "attack Clinton" campaign in 1998 which ended in disaster. Livingston came in as the clean-up man and got cleaned out.

We The People. The biggest loser of all is our nation. We focused on only one event for an entire year, everything else was a sidebar. Foreign policy decisions and domestic proposals were sometimes viewed with skepticism as presidential ploys. The greatest, most powerful, most influential nation on earth can ill afford a year adrift. For this year of national inattention, there will be a price to pay.

More losers

Now we move on to the peripheral losers. They receive the Hugh "The Loser" Mulcahy Award (Phillies, 1930s) for consistent ineptitude.

Stewart Taylor. Taylor was the reflective, analytical, dispassionate journalist on Supreme Court opinions often on the Jim Leherer News Hour. He was, by the pressure of events, drawn in to the Clinton/Monica affair. He decided that Bill Clinton was a guilty president destined for removal. Ken Starr liked his articles so much, that he offered him a job as his press spokesman -- a fact that Taylor revealed only belatedly and begrudgingly. He is in the midst of a facelift espousing now that Starr himself should exit.

George Stephanopolus. He's the Linda Tripp of journalism. Clinton made him famous. Clinton stuck with him when he crashed as the presidential press office. Stephanopolus expressed his gratitude by condemning Clinton.

There's nothing inherently wrong with a journalist or a politician condemning Clinton. Most of the Democratic members of the House and Senate have called his behavior "reprehensible," "indecent," "scandalous," "horrible," etc. There is, nevertheless, something unseemly about a protege lashing out against his mentor.

Perhaps there are some small winners.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He showed a refreshing and useful sense of humor which served to punctuate the hum-drum reading of prepared scripts.

Senator Dale Bumpers. The one great speech floating in a sea of rhetorical overkill.

Lanny Davis. From the start, he defended Clinton when no one else in his right mind would: He could smile when everyone else wanted to cry.

Bill Kristol. He attacked Clinton before Sam Donaldson made up his mind. He made no bones about where he stood.

Geraldo Rivera and Chris Matthews, the CNBC twins. One spent a year excusing Clinton, the other spent a year executing him. Night after night after night, the only story worthy of national debate was Clinton and Monica. A rotating bunch of "expert" accusers and excusers endlessly rehashed the story. It is a sad fact that, with certain stories, saturation television improves ratings. As much as the polls show that the country was tired of the scandal, a significant segment of the listeners couldn't get enough.

To the extent that television saturation is the winner, traditional journalism is the loser.

Winners

Asa Hutchison. He's the former U.S. attorney, now the congressman from Arkansas. He came across as the one "Mr. Manager" who studied, prepared, understood and articulated the case against Clinton. He expressed himself with conviction and sincerity.

Charles Ruff. The president's private lawyer, David Kendall, will receive the big fee. Charles Ruff, the president's White House counsel, should receive the president's gratitude. He stood tall from his wheelchair.

Trent Lott and Tom Daschle. They did their best to try to purify the polluted atmosphere.

James Carville. To me, he's a continuing annoyance. Yet he was the initiator of the campaign to demonize Ken Starr. As the creator of the winning strategy, he gets the "actor of the year award," with the Republican party in general winning "best supporting actors."

Monica Lewinsky. She has been a personality of both ridicule and sympathy. But as her testimony both at the grand jury and before Congress makes clear, she showed as much grace and poise as possible under impossible conditions.

Cheryl Mills and Nicole Seligman. They disprove the dying notion that female lawyers are only fit for paperwork. Mills, in particular, was a compelling presence in her opening statement on behalf of the president.

Finally, Hillary Clinton emerges as a winner. She earned first sympathy, then respect, for her dignified and resolute response to a challenge that was both intensely personal and fiercely partisan. It is perhaps a final irony that the concluding winners in this sex scandal are the women.

~Tom Eagleton of St. Louis is a former U.S. senator from Missouri.