Go ahead and indict the Big Dog
                                   By James Higdon
 
                                   December 21, 2000 | In the first commentary that I submitted
                                   to  bartcop.com, I asserted that Robert Ray would never
                                   dare indict Bill Clinton for perjury. The law is not on Ray's
                                   side, and he knows it. However, as patterns develop, it is
                                   becoming clearer that legal logic plays no role in GOP
                                   politics; a fact that has been made stunningly clear by the
                                   Federalist Society's trashing of the hallowed halls of the
                                   Supreme Court. Antonin Scalia's point has been well made:
                                   politics is everything.

                                   The famed Watergate stool pigeon, John Dean, in a
                                   December 8 article for FindLaw.com, has made a better
                                   analysis than I in regard to Ray's intentions.

                                   "*Ray told CNN's Late Edition he would give his decision
                                   about indicting Bill Clinton 'very shortly after the president
                                   leaves office in the best interest of the country, and also not
                                   to unfairly tread on the new president's administration.'"

                                   Ray has impaneled a grand jury, and called in Lewinsky for
                                   questioning. And Dean continues.

                                   "Robert Ray has not been twiddling his thumbs for over a
                                   year in his job, not knowing what he plans to do with Bill
                                   Clinton. Rather, Ray is waiting for Clinton to leave office
                                   because it is doubtful whether a sitting president can be indicted."

                                   Dean's article, written while the identity of the future president
                                   was still in doubt, suggests multiple possible outcomes, but
                                   Mr. Dean himself seems to lean a bit toward the following:

                                   "While no president has ever pardoned himself, the law
                                   supports the president's authority to do so. Scholarly inquiry
                                   into the subject was provoked first by fear that Richard
                                   Nixon would pardon himself to escape Watergate; later [the]
                                   by thought that George H. W. Bush would do so because of
                                   the Iran-Contra grand jury; and most recently by concern
                                   about Bill Clinton's problem of a possible post-Presidency
                                   indictment and trial. And while a few scholars have
                                   concluded that the president cannot pardon himself, many
                                   more believe that he can."

                                   The former counsel to President Nixon suggests that the Big
                                   Dog will chew on this bone, if at all possible, to avoid further
                                   embarrassment to his family, and to put an end to ever
                                   mounting legal bills. And here I part company with Mr. Dean.
                                   Pardoning himself is the last thing Clinton would even
                                   consider. The very notion is something that can only be
                                   conceived by a Republican mind.

                                   Another possibility that Dean suggests is a pardon for Bill
                                   Clinton by the newly appointed Emperor Bush. After all the
                                   pardons issued by Republican presidents to protect their own
                                   hides (or Hydes), tossing a bone to a Democrat might be a
                                   great way to legitimize that desired kinder, gentler,
                                   non-partisan, compassionate conservative mantle. One thing
                                   the emperor could use is a touch of legitimacy. Il Dubya's
                                   handlers may believe that Clinton will be receptive to a
                                   pardon, even though he has publicly stated that he'd never
                                   accept one, for the same reasons Dean believes that Clinton
                                   could decide to pardon himself.

                                   Personally, I take Clinton at his word. And he has reaffirmed
                                   that commitment to Dan Rather on the recent installment of
                                   60 Minutes II. He would rather battle Ray on the merits (or
                                   lack thereof) of the indictment. Accepting a pardon could
                                   damage his legacy if impeachment is allowed to rise to a level
                                   above what it actually was; an attempted coup by a cabal of
                                   right wing goose steppers who rule the formerly grand old
                                   party with an iron hand. By beating Ray in court, Clinton
                                   further discredits his detractors.

                                   Any indictment by Ray would likely never make it to trial
                                   because the case is without merit. But even if it did, the
                                   problems with going to trial against an ex-president are nearly
                                   insurmountable. Where exactly do you find a jury with no
                                   strong preconceived opinions about Bill Clinton? The
                                   mythical beast befitting such a description is more likely to be
                                   captured by scientists and caged for study.

                                   Witness after witness, Republican and Democrat,
                                   constitutional scholars all, appeared before the House head
                                   hunters to testify that Clinton committed no indictable offense.
                                   "So what," cried Henry Hyde, "an impeachable offense does
                                   not have to rise to the level of an indictable one." Thus the
                                   legal Republican pit bull is muzzled by the claims and
                                   admissions of his owners.

                                   One more assault on this extraordinarily popular leader
                                   would immediately negate all claims of Republican
                                   bipartisanship, and hand 2002 to the Democrats. These
                                   Republican squirrels, trapped by their own bitter hatred,
                                   gnawed off one leg by shutting down the government,
                                   gnawed off another with impeachment, and are still caught in
                                   the same trap. It would not surprise me if they are poised to
                                   gnaw off another leg.

                                   A smarter tactic for the Republicans would be to have Ray
                                   announce that an indictment is imminent, then White House
                                   script writers could manufacture a statement for the puppet in
                                   chief that any indictment of Clinton will be met by a pardon.
                                   The RNC could then fax off scripts to the Sunday morning
                                   talking heads claiming the events as proof that Clinton is guilty
                                   of perjury, and that the emperor is kinder, gentler, and more
                                   compassionate than a president. This would prevent Clinton
                                   from refusing a pardon, allow the president appointee to
                                   show he would've if he could've, and prevent the Republican
                                   squirrel from chewing into that third leg while the fourth and
                                   last is still crushed in the trap.

                                   However, such a plan wouldn't last more than a news cycle,
                                   and would deny the hate mongers the chance to grind Clinton
                                   into the dirt under the heel of a Texas sized boot. It would
                                   also require the not so subtle admission that Clinton is better
                                   at politics than DeLay and Lott. Clinton has found issues to
                                   win the hearts and minds of America, while DeLay and Lott
                                   have only offered more money for the rich, and paranoid
                                   hatred for the rest of us.

                                   The best plan for Republicans is to forget any indictment and
                                   simply hope that Clinton fades away into ex-presidential
                                   obscurity. They must set aside that pressing fear that Clinton
                                   is yet a young man, and will return to toy with them again
                                   someday. But hatred is a powerful force, which is why
                                   Republicans attempt to use it to conquer opposition to their
                                   unreasonable programs. Hatred is also blinding, and so there
                                   are many things they may never see. They may never see the
                                   damage they have done to themselves during the Clinton
                                   years—never see the damage they have done to themselves
                                   by rigging an election. They may never see Clinton as he
                                   really is; a marvelously talented political leader with his finger
                                   on the pulse of America. Those hateful, petrified little
                                   squirrels, to use the vernacular of Clinton's native Arkansas,
                                   may never see that this Big Dog can hunt.
 
 
 
 

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