The Impeachment of President Clinton

* Many of President Clinton’s defenders who accuse Republicans of hypocrisy, partisanship and extremism in the impeachment debate are undoubtedly engaging in a common human fallacy: the judging of others based on the belief that they are just like ourselves.

Good people tend to believe that others are also good, and so they are sometimes victimized when they give a villain the benefit of the doubt.

Bad people, meanwhile, believe that everyone is similarly motivated by corrupt intentions and that anyone who is not can only be a naive fool.

Clinton defenders viciously attack their opponents because they cannot and will not believe that anyone else is capable of taking a stand based on principle.

Many Clinton defenders know, deep within their hearts, that they themselves would be leading the charge for impeachment if these same charges and evidence were against a Republican president.

They also know that they would be defending Clinton to the hilt even if overwhelming evidence were to surface that Clinton has matched Richard Nixon misdeed for misdeed and then some.

Hypocrites assume the worst of everyone, particularly their rivals and opponents, because they must; to do otherwise is to admit to their own moral inferiority.

JAY PETERSON

Santa Ana

* Re “Majority Condemn Clinton in Another House--Nixon’s,” Dec. 20:

Visitors to the Richard Nixon Library & Birthplace seem to forget that Nixon resigned before a House impeachment vote only because members of his own party told him they could no longer support him--after his own revelations of wrongdoing were made clear by his tape recordings.

They forget that, besides using his position to cover up a “minor burglary” (of Democratic Party headquarters), he also attempted to use (or abuse) his powers by siccing the IRS, FBI and CIA on his “enemies.”

Now what has Clinton done to inspire similar wrath (from members of the opposition party)--win two elections?

To add insult to injury there’s Bob Dornan prospecting for another congressional seat because he thinks “. . . Congress is a lesser place with me not there. (Dec. 20)” The carpetbagger rides again.

And then comes Kenneth L. Khachigian’s Dec. 20 column. Excuse me, but Clinton’s “private investigative forces” cannot begin to do the damage done by Ken Starr’s “public investigative forces,” using my tax money.

And considering that it is the media that are uncovering many scandals in public officials’ private lives, the term “Clinton’s private investigative forces” takes on a whole new meaning--the same media which has dwelt for months on Clinton’s private life is now his “private investigative force”?

EILEEN GERSHON

Orange

* Bring on Dornan and his carpet bag. You just can’t drive a stake through this guy.

As to his remark that he doesn’t “see my equal in the House,” I’d like to remind him that we saw House members sink to his level many times over these past few weeks.

RICHARD A. HEIN

Fullerton

* The normally articulate and calculating President Clinton seemed to stumble over his words Dec. 21 as he called for the suspects in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland to be brought to justice.

Could it be that he realized the hypocrisy of one who has gone to great lengths to avoid being brought to justice himself calling for others to surrender themselves?

BRUCE CRAWFORD

Fountain Valley

* If the men and women of the U.S. Senate have the slightest bit of respect for our Constitution, they will have a trial.

President Clinton deserves a trial. Any person accused should know their accuser and have the right to a trial. Any effort to plea bargain for a censure is admitting guilt and therefore should be cause to remove the president from office.

We owe it to the president to have a trial so he can clear his good name or be removed from office. The senators must do nothing more than be jurors. No grandstanding, no soapboxes, not even any CNN interviews during the process.

By the way, who are the “American people”? Every reference I hear made to the “American people” and how “they” feel is completely out of touch with reality. I am never polled by anybody. Maybe because I am busy working instead of staying home watching Jerry Springer, Oprah, Sally, etc.

DAVID GREGG

Mission Viejo

* All of the talking-head Democrats say that President Clinton shouldn’t be removed because “it is the will of the people.”

They cite all kinds of polls that back them up. If that is how they want to govern the country, I have a good poll question for them.

Let’s ask a representative sample of Americans, “Would you like to pay zero income taxes?” When the talking-head Democrats act on that poll response, they can give Clinton his censure.

ANTHONY J. MILLER

Aliso Viejo