Clinton on the Stand

August 17, 1998
Today the President of the United States is supposed to testify. I say "supposed to" because I am taping this commentary before Monday, August 17th. It is always possible that something will happen that will postpone his testimony.

And I suppose that is the point. The President's testimony on Monica Lewinsky has been up in the air for months. A number of the callers to the Johanna Fisher show last week said it really isn't the public's business. They argued that "whatever the President does behind closed doors is his business."

These callers are not the exception. The latest polls indicate that 72 percent of Americans believe he had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewsinsky, and 70 percent polled believe he told a lie in a cover up. Yet, 68 percent give him a favorable rating. Those poll numbers may change some in the next few weeks, but I don't think there will be a dramatic swing.

The American people are willing to give the President a pass on this issue, and frankly I'm not that surprised for three reasons. First, you have the documented statistics that at least a third of the American people have had an adulterous affair. Some social scientists think the numbers may even be higher. It's tough for someone who has had an affair to condemn someone else who had one. Second, the highest value in society today is not truth or integrity. It's tolerance. Each day we are told not to judge, not to make moral distinctions. And third, I think the American people don't care about the President's moral life because the economy is good. Things are going well, so why rock the boat?

The President's testimony today may change that attitude but I don't think so. The American people just don't care, and I'm sad that they don't.

I'm Kerby Anderson of Probe Ministries, and that's my opinion.

© 1998 Probe Ministries International