As the country waits on the edge of its seat, Special
Prosecutor Ken Starr is trying to strike a deal to cross-examine Monica Lewinsky, the
21-year-old former White House intern with whom Pres. Bill Clinton is accused of having an
affair.
Did Bill Clinton have a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, or is he
the victim of a right-wing conspiracy? Or is the truth somewhere between?
The Tribune took this issue to the streets of Queens on
Tuesday, just before Clinton’s State of the Union Address.
These are the questions we asked:
Q: The special prosecutor is investigating the possibility
that President Bill Clinton had sex with a White House intern, then perjured himself by
denying the incident. How does it look for Clinton, thumbs up or thumbs down?
Q: Is a President’s ability to lead the nation
compromised in any way by his sex life?
Q: Has the prosecutor gone too far in his investigation into
Clinton?
Q: Has the media gone too far in covering the issue?
| Political Reation |
 U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman
D-Bayside[Clinton] said ... emphatically yesterday that
he didn’t do anything ... [Lewinsky] swore under oath that nothing happened. Who are
you going to believe, the President who said he didn’t do anything, or the person
he’s accused of doing it with, who also said he didn’t do anything? Yes, the
special prosecutor is going too far - It doesn’t seem to have much to do with real
estate in Arkansas ... The media’s job is to cover this issue; this is what’s
going on, and it’s historic. |
 Council Minority Leader Thomas
Ognibene
R-Middle VillageIf it had been any president other than
Bill Clinton, 90 percent of the people wouldn’t believe it. [But] he has had a long
history of allegations surrounding his conduct ... It brings him down simply because he
finally gave a categorical denial - He’s putting his presidency on the line. If they
have any corroboration of her allegations it’s incumbent upon them to investigate ...
How far can you go with this guy? Every time you wake up there’s something else in
his conduct screaming to be investigated ... If this isn’t a story worthy of the
front page, what is? This guy is the President of the United States. |
 Councilman Morton Povman
D-Forest HillsIt started off with investments. When they
couldn’t come up with anything, they turned to sex ... They’re making it seem
like a felony or a murder ... It’s ridiculous they would focus all of this energy and
time on this - All it does is feed our enemies like Saddam Hussein ... In one day, the New
York Post had eight different stories about this by eight different reporters - Is
that normal? |
 Councilman Sheldon Leffler
D-HollisIt looks bad for him, but an impeachment is far
down the line ... Certainly, a president’s ability to lead the nation is compromised
by his sex life; that is going to be the main outcome ... This is a system with an
independent prosecutor - Perhaps it should be reexamined ... As far as I know,
there’s no proof [Clinton] did anything. Nothing has been established yet,
they’re just allegations. Nothing has been proven. |
