Bomb the Usual Iraqis
By Eric Margolis
Dec. 17, 1998
LOS ANGELES - Moral crusade, or Charge of the Light
Brigade? That's the question vexing House Republicans as
they face an historic vote to impeach President William
Clinton - now postponed for a day or two by the
president's desperate wag the camel attack on Baghdad.
A president who commits perjury in court, as Clinton did
repeatedly, should be ousted, or resign. No matter how
much Americans love charming Bill, Congress has a duty
to enforce the law. Still, it's most unfortunate the
only crime investigators managed to pin on slippery,
super-lawyer Clinton arose from Monica's loose lips.
Impeaching a president over a trivial sexual escapade -
even if he did lie about it - sticks in the throats of
Americans, who are royally fed up with the whole tawdry
business. Republicans will pay dearly in the next
election for this unpopular inquisition, pundits warn.
Clinton's counter-attack began last week. First came the
smiling photo-ops of Clinton doing the statesman shtick
in Israel and Gaza. Meanwhile, in Washington, Democrats
were loudly warning that if Clinton were impeached and -
God forbid - tried by the Senate, there would be no one
to run the world, not to mention the USA, and just when
malefactors like Saddam Hussein were waiting to strike.
Next, bomb the usual Iraqis! the Clinton Administration
ordered UN arms inspectors to raid Baath party
headquarters in Baghdad, Saddam's political nerve
center, an act guaranteed to provoke the Iraqis. Baghdad
reacted right on cue, denying the intelligence agents
called `inspectors' admission to these highly sensitive
political offices.
Either Saddam was thoughtfully trying to help Bill
Clinton out of the mother of all political jams, or else
Clinton had succeeded in provoking a major foreign
crisis right when the House was about to pillory the
philandering president.
Bombing Baghdad is always the tonic of choice for ailing
presidents. However, the world's one billion Muslims are
about to begin celebrating the holy month of Ramadan,
and Christian Arabs the Christmas season. In the Mideast
game, carpet bombing Muslims during Ramadan is
considered a definite no-no. Still, Clinton seems to
have decided infuriating the entire Muslim world against
America is worth the boost blasting Iraq it will give
his endangered presidency.
Mideast charades aside, are Democrats right when they
claim the US cannot function if the president, Senate,
and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are tried up in a
trial? Absolutely not. Such claims remind me of a friend
who runs a big corporation. Every time he goes on a
trip, his aged mother asks, `so who'se watching the
business?'
The US government is not a candy store. It can function
very well for a while without the president or Congress.
In fact, their temporary inactivity is of benefit to the
republic. America needs less government, not more
activist intervention. New laws, regulations, and pork
can wait. The nation will somehow survive a month
without new Clinton photo-ops, or hugely expensive
made-for-TV military demonstrations.
There's even a positive side to the whole impeachment
mess. When many Americans actually believe they can't
survive for a moment without the president, it's clear
the imperial presidency has grown far too strong.
Congress, not the president, is the prime branch of
government, the voice of the people. The media promotes
a false impression the monarch-president makes the whole
system function, and without him, it will collapse. The
ex-gov of Arkansas is not Louis XIV.
When the president travels with a 1,200-man entourage
worthy of a Ming Emperor, when the world breathlessly
awaits White House pronouncements, it's time to return
this office to modesty, as intended by the Founding
Fathers. Clinton has repeatedly shown he feels himself
above the law, scorning Congress and refusing to respond
to its requests. Such cavalier arrogance convinced many
wavering Republicans to vote for impeachment.
The presidency badly needs a diet of humble pie.
Copyright: Eric Margolis, 1998
