By R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr. on 4.18.02 @ 12:02AM
When Washington's political giants and journalistic celebs make their ex cathedra statements of what ''everyone knows,'' you can be sure that in a matter of months ''no one will remember'' or even give a damn.
Washington -- One of the great fascinations for me in observing
national events is to witness how today's Conventional Wisdom on a
particular matter is totally forgotten tomorrow. Put another way,
what was the Conventional Wisdom of yesterday is an antique,
totally forgotten today. Thus when Washington's political giants
and journalistic celebs make their ex cathedra statements
of what "everyone knows," you can be sure that in a matter of
months "no one will remember" or even give a damn.
Consider two Conventional Wisdoms from the recent past that
"everyone" knew but then forgot. In 1974 and 1975, said Official
Washington, "everyone knows" that former President Richard Nixon's
great mistake during the recent Watergate unpleasantness was "to
lie to the American people." Readers with a sense of history will
remember the variation on this Conventional Wisdom: "the lie was
worse than the cover up." Another variation was "the president does
not lie to the American people." Are you getting my drift?
So consider another Conventional Wisdom of the recent past that
has somehow slipped from mind today. In the early 1960s, when "the
best and the brightest" were at work with John and Bobby in the
White House, journalists, academics, and prominent Washington
politicians spoke solemnly of "the awesome power of the
presidency." The "awesome power of the presidency" weighed upon one
man, the lonely figure seated in the Oval Office. It enhaloed him.
It set him apart. Equally important, the "power of the presidency"
suffused American society, affecting tastes (no more hats on men)
and knocking over opposition (the steel executives). "The awesome
power of the presidency" could do much good, but it could -- in the
hands of the wrong person -- pose a threat to American
liberties.
Well, what ever happened to those two radiant truths of
Conventional Wisdom? What happened to "a president does not lie to
the American people" when Bill Clinton was president and Monica
Lewinsky had her coming out party? What happened to Washington's
apprehensions about "the awesome power of the presidency" when the
most fun-loving president in American history was smearing
prosecutors, harassing them with frivolous legal claims and charges
of misconduct? To this day the only authoritative voice in
Washington to speak out against Clinton's abuse of "the awesome
power of the presidency" has been that of Independent Counsel
Robert Ray. In his final report he illumined "the awesome power" of
the Clinton presidency, citing "delays by the White House and
others, involving both the failure to produce relevant evidence,
the refusal of witnesses to testify, and the filing of meritless
legal claims that ultimately were rejected by the courts."
Aides to the Hon. James A. Traficant, Jr., Democrat of Ohio,
might have cautioned him not to adopt the defense tactics of former
President Clinton. A president can blame the press, make a
burlesque of the legal system, smear prosecutors, and lie to a
judge. But a lowly congressman (who, by the way, is obviously
guilty as charged) had better not try such coarse defense tactics.
For that matter, aides to the Hon. Gary Condit should have
cautioned him not to adopt tactics from his role model's game plan.
Denying all charges and simply refusing to talk about rumored
sexual dalliances saved a president, but they would not save a mere
congressman.
The reason that Traficant and Condit are goners is that (a) they
are creeps and (b) there obviously is something to that forgotten
Conventional Wisdom about "the awesome power of the presidency." A
president can intimidate. He can deauthorize legitimate agencies of
the government. He can wriggle and squirm in the most unseemly ways
to maintain office. What is more, he can, at least temporarily,
affect the tastes of the nation. Bill Clinton did not affect
American tastes as widely as John Kennedy did, but then Clinton was
an obvious slob and Kennedy was a gentleman. Clinton did encourage
every ethically shaky politician in the country that higher office
was within his grasp, say becoming junior senator for New York.
What remains to be answered is whether there was ever any
validity to the other aforementioned Conventional Wisdom, namely "a
president does not lie to the American people." Clinton lied to
everyone. He was even caught instructing others to lie. My guess is
that a certain kind of president can lie to the American people and
survive. That is because our first Conventional Wisdom, "the
awesome power of the presidency," overwhelms our second "one does
not lie." What is this "certain kind of president" who can lie and
survive? It is the gifted demagogue who, if he does not please the
mob, at least pleases Washington's elites. Clinton lied to
everyone, but Washington's elites had a weakness for him.
topics:
Bill Clinton, NATO
