NO NEED FOR DELAYS IN SEX CASE AGAINST CLINTON

Some of the Teflon that has rebuffed virtually every legal assault on the Clinton administration rubbed off this week when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled -- unanimously -- that the Constitution doesn't shield a sitting president from lawsuits over actions that are unrelated to his official duties.

In short, Paula Jones's lawsuit, which alleges she was sexually harassed by Bill Clinton while he was governor of Arkansas, can move ahead. The president's lawyers had tried to get the legal proceedings delayed until after the president leaves office in 2001.

It is remarkable that special prosecutors, along with some of the best legal minds in the country and busy political enemies, haven't been able to accomplish what Paula Jones has done: find a chink in the legal armor that has protected the president thus far.

The high court's ruling comes against a backdrop of this administration's apparent disdain for moral rectitude. Even if no laws have been broken since Clinton took office in 1993, the current occupants of the White House and their minions have, without a doubt, stretched every conceivable ethical concept as they have steamrolled their socialist agenda.

Curiously, however, the Clinton administration's agenda has produced precious little in the way of real accomplishments. The centerpieces, including the fiscally irresponsible national health program, have fizzled while much of the nation's attention has been on legal wrangling, depositions and grand jury appearances.

Whether or not Jones will have her day in court with the president anytime soon is still a matter of considerable doubt. The Supreme Court gave the Arkansas judge who is hearing the case tremendous leeway in allowing delays in order to impede the performance of presidential duties.

But think about it: What, exactly, is more important than clearing the name of a president? There are no wars being fought. The nation is in no crisis -- economic, political, social or otherwise. In fact, the United States is probably in the best position right now to put the fewest demands on a president's undivided attention.

Any delays -- by a judge who was a law student of Clinton's when he taught at the University of Arkansas -- will be scrutinized by legal scholars and a curious public alike. The president succeeded in putting off Jones's accusations until after his re-election campaign. He might not be so successful in protecting his heir apparent, Al Gore.