NORM SHOULD DRAFT BILL TO BE SCOREKEEPER

This may not be the time, in the minds of many Americans, to criticize President Clinton. After all, American pilots are engaged in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia and Kosovo. We must stand behind our fighting forces who are in harm's way.

Yes, men and women ordered by their military superiors to go into battles of questionable purpose deserve our support. But the commander-in-chief is still our president, and he continues to display utter disregard for decent Americans who believe in right and wrong.

Take his press conference of a week ago, when Clinton made this bizarre statement. He said the box score of his administration would show "one negative" about lying, but "hundreds and hundreds" of other times that he was truthful.

Not that anyone has really been keeping score of presidential truthfulness, but Norm Stewart's Tigers would be in the Final Four this weekend if they could have had a scorekeeper like Bill Clinton.

Who knows? Maybe the president has told the truth at times. It's so hard to tell, now that everyone knows he's a habitual liar, the kind that will say anything to make himself look good at any moment. Who thinks Clinton was telling the truth when he said there will only be "one negative" recorded for his administration in the history books of tomorrow?

Americans remember things a long time. They remember when Clinton said in a joint session of Congress that he had put 100,000 police officers on the crime-ridden streets of American, when in fact he had only urged Congress to pay for all those officers and only a few thousand had actually been hired. Never mind. The president got the headlines he wanted.

Americans remember that Clinton has filled posts requiring Senate confirmation with appointees who couldn't pass advice-and-consent muster. The law allows those unconfirmed appointees to serve for a year. Never mind. Who needs the hassle of Senate confirmation?

Americans remember that many of Clinton's hare-brained schemes failed to get congressional approval, so the president simply issued executive orders or had federal agencies implement unauthorized rules to achieve the same end. Never mind. Better to get the job done than worry about those pesky Republicans who control Congress.

Americans remember when the president took credit for balancing the budget, which is wrong on two counts: He didn't do it, and it isn't balanced. Whatever credit there is for edging closer to a balanced budget has to be claimed by congressional Republicans who forced Clinton to agreed to spending caps that he was willing to shut down government to avoid. Never mind. Clinton is happy to bask in the limelight.

Come on, Mr. President. We don't know when you're lying or telling the truth. And you don't know the difference.