From a Fundamentalist, the Speech That Could Save the President

I have been an outspoken critic of President Clinton and many of his policies. I have often rebuked his seemingly perpetual extramarital indiscretions. Our nation’s political leaders have an inherited responsibility to lead by example, whether they like it or not. While I have called for his resignation since January, I have also been outspoken in my opposition to impeachment, for many reasons. I have called for the removal of legal jeopardy (the possibility of future prosecution in these matters) so as to give the president the freedom to resign his office without ensuing penalty.

Like USA Today, many other newspapers and many Americans, I have held out hope that the president would do the honorable thing, put the nation above his personal interests and surrender the presidency. Sadly, he says he has not even considered this option.

While it will surprise no one that I have never been asked to advise this president, I have written a speech for him that could save his job and prevent the deep wound of impeachment from continuing its infection of our political process. In fact, these words could have saved the president if they had been delivered at any of several junctures during this past year:

“My fellow Americans. I alone am responsible for the anguish America has endured in 1998--the anguish that Dick Gephardt has called the ‘politics of personal destruction.’ I am sorry and I ask your forgiveness. My personal carelessness caused this national embarrassment. Kenneth Starr did not cause it. The independent counsel statute did not cause it. The media did not cause it. Neither did Newt Gingrich or the Republican-led Congress cause it. Nor did the ‘vast right-wing conspiracy’ cause this American dilemma. I accept the complete blame for this disaster and humbly ask your forgiveness. I must now stand before you and say that the true story here is one of personal irresponsibility, reckless behavior and selfish ambition. What I have done to diminish the office of the president is unjustifiable.

“I could have prevented this national dishonor. It was I who, in 1992, promised the ‘most ethical administration in history.’ With that promise in mind, I should have prevented much of the multimillion dollar investigation conducted by the independent counsel into my obvious imprudence. I could have prevented my Cabinet and loyal staff from going out on a limb to publicly defend me. I could have prevented dozens of my friends and co-workers from testifying before a grand jury and incurring thousands of dollars in personal legal expenses to protect me.

“I could have prevented the Judiciary Committee from wasting valuable time in the hearings regarding my malfeasance. I could have prevented the House of Representatives from debating and voting on articles of impeachment. I could have prevented a pending trial in the Senate and repeated suspicion about the timing of my foreign initiatives. More important, I could have absolutely prevented the disgrace I brought on my family. But I didn’t, and now I must live with the consequences of my actions forever.

“I have hurt good people in my party by putting them in the position of having to defend my behavior. I have also hurt good people in the Republican Party by putting them in the unenviable position of having to prosecute me. Henry Hyde and Ken Starr are decent men, and the public assault they have sustained is not their fault. The fault rests with me, and I am terribly sorry. Members of the House should not be demonized, maligned or discredited for their investigation into my actions, nor should members of the Senate be strong-armed or threatened regarding my pending impeachment trial.

“To say, as many of my defenders have, that this case subjects future presidents to impeachment by politically driven opponents is to trivialize what I have done. Let me be candid and honest. I didn’t just mislead the nation and two juries. I lied. And I lied willingly. I did not have what I have described as an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with Monica Lewinsky; I committed adultery, took advantage of her and betrayed the sacred trusts of my office and my marriage. America cannot embrace a different standard of law for the powerful.

“Now, my political fate is in the hands of the Senate and the American people. I will no longer try to influence that process. For I recognize that in the eyes of God, truly just and proportionate punishment would be far worse than anything that Congress alone could administer. I plead not for justice, but for mercy. If senators decide they want me to relinquish the presidency, I will accept their decision without protest. I can only say, I’m sorry, please forgive me, and may God bless America. “