MISSOURI WATCH: ZIPPERGATE OFFERS SOMETHING FOR ALL

The only enduring quality of the current Washington scandal is that it's providing a conclusive point for just about every segment of American culture.So far it has been possible to read "reasonable conclusions" reached by both the moderate and extreme wings of conservative and liberal thought in the U.S. Even those who have not reached their final political guidepost, often referred to as moderates, have a conclusion to propose to the presidential propositions of William Jefferson Clinton. Our state's junior senator, John Ashcroft, believes the President should resign forthwith, even before all the facts are before the American public. Our state's ranking congressman, Dick Gephardt, counsels patience while expressing confidence and trust in the man occupying the nation's highest office. I suspect most Missourians fall somewhere in between these two.

The feminists and the anti-feminists turn their attention to the young lady who has precipitated the latest Clinton sexual scandal. The two groups hold differing views: one wants to see the civil liberties as well as the reputation of Monica Lewinsky fully protected; the other side suggests in no uncertain terms that she is obviously a first-class, loony-tunes bimbo. Strangely, people on both sides of this issue invariably harken back to the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill imbroglio, each group claiming the events involving the former Missourian's ascension to the U.S. Supreme Court prove its point. It's strange how the passage of time will warp our ability to view occurrences with any degree of consistency or logic.Those who view the news media as part of the problem rather than an avenue toward fuller public information and understanding can draw repeated conclusions from Zippergate, or whatever it is eventually named. From Sam Donaldson's first-day conclusion that the President would be forced to resign perhaps no later than the next week to Margaret Carlson's conclusion that Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr has already broken more laws than Clinton had ever been accused of, we have no lack of contrasting views and conclusions. It is astounding to watch the transmogrification of reporters to media personalities who break the first rule of journalism and become part of the story rather than nonpartisan observers. Who can be shocked that the news business has become show business?For those who hold a growling grudge for the legal profession and those in its midst who actually litigate as opposed to those in Washington who only influence, Kenneth Starr's star chamber has been a glorious example of the lawyerization of America. The cost estimates of the Whitewater investigation range, depending on one's support or opposition, from $25 to $40 million thus far. What seems a worse indictment, however, is the lack of constitutional guarantees accorded Miss Lewinsky during 10 hours of Starr interrogation without the benefit of counsel and the questionable practice of wiring a possible investigative target to gain other information. Apologists say these practices are a part of the pursuit for truth, and they have a point in view of this President's seeming indifference to its value.Topping off these multiple schizoid reactions to Zippergate are the strangely contradictory views of the American public. While initially holding that Mr. Clinton's alleged sexual dalliances within the White House were sufficiently deplorable to cast grave doubt on his ability to serve in public office, this view seemed to change following the President's delivery of the State of the Nation address. Demonstrating the power of television on the American psyche, Clinton's State of the Nation appearance seemed to transcend whatever crimes he had been accused of just hours earlier. Perhaps this is not unusual in a nation of 250 million souls that selects its leader from a field of two, based on opinions formed in a time frame that does not exceed a 30-minute episode of "Seinfeld." When any society bases its judgment on how a candidate appears rather than a thoughtful study of the issues at stake, mistakes are bound to occur, again and again.If the public supports Mr. Clinton because a majority feels it is doing reasonably well economically, then we have been looking for candidates in the wrong places. Rather than selecting those with political experience who are able to express reasonably competent views on national issues, we should be inaugurating economists and those who espouse improved business and economic conditions. Rather than choosing outstanding members from Congress or statehouses, we should be searching Wall Street and corporate boardrooms for leadership talent. How about the editor of the Wall Street Journal's editorial page for president and a former member of the Federal Reserve Board as vice president? If the state of the U.S. economy at any time will determine a president's popularity, then watch out for climbing deficits and escalating public debt.The significant issue before the country at this moment is not the guilt or innocence of Bill Clinton. The real dilemma is whether Americans of myriad backgrounds and aspirations can get beyond the political drama that has become such a part of Washington that citizens become bored and indifferent to matters relating to public policy. Americans are watching recent events not because they are involved in the political process but because they find the deportment of their President with a very young female intern to be shocking and titillating. Many have already declared their lack of interest, which is another way of saying the principals have become as trite and insignificant as the actors on TV soap operas.Would our governmental leaders devote as much thought, time and effort into the solution of malefic national problems as they spend on political damage control. As George Castanza from "Seinfeld" would say, "No way, baby!"

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.