Surviving a storm

Clinton comes through for country despite allegations of misconduct

President Bill Clinton is a resilient man.

Now facing charges of sexual misconduct with a then 21-year-old former White House intern, Clinton's presidency would seem to be in peril.

But he has weathered similar allegations before. Gennifer Flowers was dismissed and discredited. Paula Jones and her high-powered lawyers can't seem to touch him. The doggedly persistent Kenneth Starr is a frustrated man.

Flowers, Jones and now Monica Lewinsky have their advocates in the court of public opinion. Their claims are credible and lend credence to a pattern of poor decisions by Clinton.

"And we cannot yet condemn Clinton, especially in light of his recent accomplishments."

However, none of the women have proven their cases in court. And we cannot yet condemn Clinton, especially in light of his recent accomplishments.

In his State of the Union Address, he was shrewd enough to cite progress he has made during his presidency, rather than give additional attention to the Lewinsky scandal.

Clinton noted the country's economic health. The government, under Clinton's administration, has given the country the lowest unemployment rate in 24 years, a five-year decline in crime rates and low inflation.

In addition, Clinton touted the fact that the 1999 federal budget will be the first balanced budget in 30 years.

Americans are not only concerned with Clinton's economic successes, though.

Education and family-oriented initiatives he is concerned with attract the public's attention and warrant respect.

Because he has attacked projects that Americans care about, he has earned many of their approvals, as evidenced by recent public opinion polls.

Clinton's approval rating has hovered around the 60 percent mark for the past week, the highest it has ever been, due mostly to the fact that he is taking on issues of interest to his constituents.

But, even with high approval ratings and the economy seemingly on track, allegations of sexual misconduct and possible perjury plague him.

If Clinton lied or asked others to lie about the allegations, his performance as a president should be called into question. We must be able to trust our nation's leader to tell the truth.

But until decisive evidence and testimony is presented in these cases, we should give the president the benefit of the doubt and trust that he will continue to lead the nation in a competent fashion.