Character, not politics, is what determines the true greatness of any leader.

When asked whether he had smoked marijuana in the mid-sixties, President Bill Clinton said that he had, "but I didn’t inhale."

This response has become known throughout America, and is used at many a gathering to lighten the spirits. If he had just admitted to smoking marijuana - something many people his age did during that era - then the American people would have forgiven him and gone on.

Instead, he dodged responsibility for his actions and tried to cover his tracks.

The unfortunate thing is that Clinton seems to be addicted to such responses. This has led to a massive cover-up of a real estate investment called Whitewater.

Whitewater started out innocently enough. From the evidence, it appears to be just another upper-class couple trying to save some money on taxes and make a little on investments. When the Clintons began to lose money, they looked for other ways to recoup it.

The problem that has arisen with the Whitewater investigation is that of the pathetic, yet deliberate cover-up. This cover-up began while Clinton was campaigning against George Bush in 1992 and has continued throughout his presidency.

The cover-up of Whitewater is almost funny in the parallels it has with the Nixon cover-up of Watergate - or should I say "attempted" cover up? From the illegal use of FBI and CIA files to the outright lies told in press conferences - from the withholding of subpoenaed documents to the constant hindrance of the investigators - it seems as if Clinton and Nixon read the same lines from the same book. Clinton, unfortunately for him, never bothered reading the end of the book . . . at least not yet.

Some dismiss the Whitewater investigation as partisan politics, mudslinging and a rouse by the Republicans to weaken Clinton. It is also said that the constant media hype is just the American people expressing their contempt for the president (whether he be a Republican or Democrat). While both of these contain some truth, they do not negate the need for the current investigation into Whitewater and the Clintons.

For while the president does take a disproportionate amount of flack, he also has a disproportionate amount of responsibility. I, for one, couldn’t start World War III, cut taxes, or hold up traffic at Los Angeles International Airport to get a haircut. So while the constant attacks may be a nuisance, get used to it. As the proverb states; If YOU can’t stand the heat, don’t eat the pepper.

Therefore, the investigation, and probable indictments, into Whitewater must go on. They must go on to prove to the world - and its future leaders - that no man is above the law, even the president of the U.S.A. We also must know whether or not we can believe our president. Hopefully, the investigation will prove that Bill Clinton is an honest man, but even if it shows otherwise, it must go on.

Few in our generation know much about Watergate (the series of events and cover-ups that toppled Richard Nixon’s presidency), but the impact it had on America is still being felt today. The investigation and impeachment proceedings showed us that Nixon could not be trusted, and this blew us away.

But it would have been worse if nothing had been done. By his resignation a clear message was given that the president was subject to law, and that honesty and trust were virtues that even the nation’s highest office had to earn and keep.

Today this rational is almost lost. People don’t seem to care too much about character; all they seem to care about is the way that a politician stands on certain issues.

This naïveté is encouraging: I had begun to believe that America had lost her innocence, when it fact all she’s lost is her brains.

The truth that character and politics go hand in hand is a concept put forth by the founding fathers of the United States. They espoused the belief that while good men made good laws, good laws did not make good men.

In light of this, how foolhardy must we be to say that character doesn’t count, only politics! Or believe that by laws alone America can be restored and saved from the decline that it is in!

The question then begs to be answered, is Whitewater a character issue? Most people do not have a problem defining President Clinton’s character. But for the sake of argument, let us ignore Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, the testimony of a number of Arkansas State Troopers, and the dozens of political flip-flops, and say that Whitewater is the sole determinant of Clinton’s character.

Then ask yourself, is it important to know if someone lies, steals and hides the truth from you? If the answer to any of these is a "yes," then a thorough investigation of Whitewater is a must. That is what is at stake in the investigation of Whitewater: the integrity and trust that a president must have, and without which will govern a divided nation.

See also a Whitewater Timeline and opposing editorial.

by Philip Pfanstiel

published September 9, 1996