Comparing Willie with Weiner

Well-informed parents understand the principle of consistency is one of the essential elements necessary to instill a strong sense of integrity in children. A wise older gentleman (who will remain nameless) once advised us to make only a few rules with our children. But he also wisely counseled that the rules we did make had to be enforced relentlessly, with absolutely no equivocating. The danger in backpedaling and equivocating on a specific rule he cautioned, would almost always lead to disaster. Sometimes politicians are a lot like children. And it seems like it has been a long time since the ghost of the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky scandal was resurrected. But it is time to do so.

With the surfacing of the Anthony Weiner revelations, we think it is instructive to re-visit the perils of letting someone off the hook on violating sacred rules, especially someone who sought and swore an oath to be the keeper of our sacred trust.

Partisans always tried to argue that the impeachment of Bill Clinton was a simple case of over-reaction. The man lied about sex was their thought process. That was it. He lied about something embarrassing. If only that one-dimensional explanation were true. At the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency he saw fit to strike a deal with the judicial system. He agreed to being disbarred from the practice of law for five years. He did so in exchange for the dropping of pending charges before his peers that he: (1) lied under oath (perjury), (2) tampered with witnesses (he was caught on taped phone conversations with Miss Lewinsky doing just that), and (3) he conspired to obstruct justice. Once Clinton made these admissions the U.S. Supreme Court banned him from ever trying a case before the court. Anyone who objectively followed the Lewinsky scandal realized that the Clinton political machine systmatically used lies and distortions to destroy the character of anyone who testified under oath about his many transgressions. However, in the end it was elected Democrats and Republicans, those who once swore they would never defend the indefensible, who did just that. And in doing so, our elected officials refused to send an unwavering message that basic integrity and truth are still all-important principles. Sadly, it was the average politician in Congress who was far more willing to look the other way. We should all be grateful where Clinton s concerned that the Supreme Court and the American Bar Association refused to tolerate cultural sabotage. Let us now fast forward to the absurd Anthony Weiner scandal. We all know the story (and the jokes). It seems that the embattled New York Congressman is now going to go with the: “I am going into rehab” angle. And those elected officials who are previously on the record of standing by someone who committed multiple felonies in the White House are suddenly, and with righteous indignation, calling on Mr. Weiner to resign. Ironically, and unlike Clinton, so far it would seem that the only thing Mr. Weiner did was to lie about sex.

Anthony Weiner

The purpose of this column is certainly NOT to make the case for letting Weiner get away with his behaviors. Of course Mr. Weiner should resign. However it is probaby high time to offer a historical reminder of what far too many Americans were willing to tolerate just before the turn of the century. In fact, upon reflection, we probably owe all lawyers an apology. Clearly the American Bar Association sets its code of conduct much higher than the American public did in the wake of all of Clinton's blatant felonies. With history in mind, we find no use in feigning surprise that people like Congressman Charles Rangel are having trouble understanding why putting the integrity genie back in the bottle is critical. Once America can be convinced to acquire a taste for ignoring perjury, witness tampering, and obstuction of justice, we can learn to tolerate just about anything. Good luck with rehab Mr. Weiner. You owe no apologies whatsoever to Mr. Clinton.

Comparing Willie with Weiner