IMPEACHMENT: NATION'S STANDARDS AT RISK

With a final House vote expected today on articles of impeachment, it is a curious time for President Clinton to decide to start telling the truth. And it is even more curious that legislative and political leaders would encourage a confession that could be bartered for anything less than impeachment.

Even Bob Dole, the respected former U.S. senator from Kansas and the Republican standard bearer in the 1996 presidential campaign, contends that having the president admit he is a liar is better than the national upheaval of impeachment.

What is the saying? Too little too late?

Those who are looking for an easy way out of this current mess are overlooking some important issues.

First there is Clinton's own behavior -- not so much his detestable private actions inside the White House, but his equally detestable public actions in the aftermath. It appears to be too easy for some of the nation's top politicians, Republicans and Democrats, to forget that Clinton made choices -- really bad decisions -- as the indelicate details of his affairs unfolded. In making those choices, Clinton opted to deceive the nation and corrupt its moral standards. It was Clinton -- and the president alone -- who chose to use means that he believed would justify the end: preservation of his presidency. These choices were not made by Republicans, right-wing conservatives, Kenneth Starr or the House Judiciary Committee.

Then there is the effect actions taken today will have on the future. In a political setting, the House will shape the national attitude toward moral behavior. Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth of Missouri, who also is an Episcopal priest, made abundant sense in a sermon he preached Sunday in a St. Louis parish:

"Each one of us, like Bill Clinton, is a sinner. Each one of us needs God's forgiveness and the forgiveness of one another. As Christians, we should pardon one another's sins, just as we ask God to pardon ours. But -- and this is crucially important -- we believe in the forgiveness of sin. We do not believe in the redefinition of sin. We do not believe in what Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan has called `defining deviancy down.' If conduct that was unthinkable yesterday is permissible today, we have defined deviancy down. If what we thought clearly sinful yesterday is a triviality today, we have redefined sin. God does not trivialize sin. God forgives sin. The cost of forgiveness is Christ's death on the cross. Christians must be ready to forgive Bill Clinton, but we should not lower the standards for all of us in order to accommodate him or anyone else. And that is exactly what we will do if we conclude that what Clinton did doesn't matter. And Christians will condone this if we remain silent."

Finally, there is the matter of confession. In the realm of laws, courts, judges, juries and prosecutors, confessions are rarely means for exoneration. When laws are broken, our legal system expects punishment. As many Democrats and some Republicans have said repeatedly, a confession from the president would be a step toward healing the country. There is little room to disagree with that. But the notion that, by confessing, anyone should escape his punishment goes way beyond the bounds of any known standard.

Yes, a confession from the president would be welcome and appropriate. And the next step would be just as prudent and logical: resignation.

If President Clinton is truly concerned about the welfare of this nation, let him do the honorable thing. Let him save the country from the specter of impeachment. Let him admit wrongdoing, and then leave the White House. At that point, he would be able to do what so many believe is right: ask for forgiveness.