Quote from OPTIONAL777:
What Clinton did, by lying and trying to cover up, will have an impact on this country as severe, if not worse than what Nixon did generations from now.
Hillary, by supporting and enabling that type of behavior, just shows that she is lacking in the necessary character to provide real leadership.
I know of no self-respecting woman who stays with a man who cheats on her.
Quote from Rs8.5:
And as far as Hillary Clinton................I don't think she is deserving of our trust. And not just because of the allegations of Whitewater and insider trading. (Which is worrisome, but again, just unproven allegations). My problem with her is she seems to be just one power hungry egomaniac. If she were a bit more human, she would have expressed her emotions just a little, probably left Bill, .........
Tough issues to really pin down with definitive answers. Here, we agree about Hillary Clinton. A shameful situation in which she is both victim and collaborator. Some would argue that a spouse should stand by their husband or wife (even a legal right in our justice system....one is exempt from testifying against one's spouse). So this is indeed an issue of many conflicts.
But as far as Clinton's lying about sex having a greater impact than Nixon's Watergate coverup, this is a whole different thing.
While the impact is probably more apparent right now, I believe it is about different subject matter. Did Clinton lie? Yes. Did Nixon lie? Yes.
The difference is that Clinton's lies were simple and obvious and understood by even little children. Now, for example, it is a fact that adolescents do not consider oral sex as "real sex". An act of physical intimacy that prior to Clinton's convoluted excuses, would have been appalling to listen to. (As it was at the time). But being the parent of 3 teenagers (they were at the time), I know that now, kids believe this to be true. When I was a teenager, it was a lot easier to get laid than it was to get a BJ. Now, one guy has changed all that (apparently....maybe it has to do to some degree with beliefs about HIV...I just really don't know the "why's" just the results).
But the seriousness of Nixon's transgressions, seem to me to be far more blatant in reality. One guy lied about sex, which, shamefully, almost everyone does at one time or another. He just got caught in a big one in a very public way.
Nixon, on the other hand, lied about the attempted hijacking of an election. An election he needed not cheat to win. So this, to me, was a lie of immense proportions. He truly covered up a scheme to rob the American people of a fair election.
Right now, obviously Clinton's lie is closer to the surface of our collective consciousness. More recent, more understandable, and part of our culture in a way. But what Nixon covered up (if not actually participating in, which we may never really know), was a crime. Clinton's act was not a crime. The lies were. Nixon's participation in Watergate, in any capacity was a real crime against America. One man was mentally ill in his sexual predilections, and the other was mentally ill in his inability to come to terms with who and what he was. He NEEDED to retain his power enough to commit acts punishable with prison terms. Both lied, and that in itself was grounds for criminal convictions. But the subject matter they lied about was so radically different.
Really, other than Hillary and I am sure Chelsea, who was hurt by Clinton's behavior (excluding the lies)? And did Hillary even care? No way we can really know. Private lives and marriages are not our business. But Nixon's crimes were against us all. And had the potential to destroy our right to a fair and lawful way of electing our leaders.
To me, there is no comparison. And I am certain that a hundred years from now, Clinton's fiasco will be looked back on as just another sex scandal. (So very European). Nixon's fiasco will always be studied as a breakdown in our process of government. It will always be about a man who put himself and his lust for power above the law.
Peace,
Rs8.5
