Everybody's Talking About . . .
Like Americans everywhere this week, reporters at The East Hampton Star found themselves talking about the scandal surrounding President Bill Clinton. In an entirely random survey, here are some of the comments they heard.
"We should get on with running the government. I think [Monica Lewinsky] is lying. I'm not a big Clinton supporter but it seems to me the Republicans and the media have something going here. It's a shame whenever one party takes over the other party has to resort to muckraking. It's been going on since Watergate. There's nobody lily white in this country, especially in Washington."
Dave DiSunno
Fire Marshal
East Hampton Town
"If he's done it, he's slime. But I think there has probably been a lot of slip in [the White House]. It's probably a job requirement. I think you should have a certain moral character, though. . . . One of them is lying and we're all willing to believe it's him. I think it's really sad, but he's given us ammunition in the past."
Sheila Dunlop
Librarian, East Hampton
"I don't think there is a real issue there. It's between him and Hillary. As long as he's running this country correctly, I have no problem. As for the vow he made when he married and whether he's kept it, that's between him and Hillary."
Carl Johnson
Basetball Coach, Bridgehampton
"If he suborned perjury, that's important. If that is true, it's very important. I don't think much of the rest of it, but if there was any subornation of perjury, the man should face the penalty. . . . It's a crime. It's a felony, actually, not even a misdemeanor."
Edward W. Horne
Retired East Hampton
Town Justice
"I really think that the whole thing is the press going after something that is really so unimportant. I'm not offended - let him do what he wants. The idea that the Presidency could be brought down by [...] is ridiculous. Nor is it an issue that the girl was only 21. I was married by 21. Who knows what goes on between two people."
"So I think it's yellow dog journalism and the enemies of Clinton trying to stir up stuff to bring him down."
Galen Williams
Landscape Designer
East Hampton
"The basic issue is that the freedom of the press has changed so greatly since F.D.R., or even Eisenhower or Kennedy, all of whom had affairs. The issue is also did he break the law by lying. I think the way in which he's handled this has greatly undermined his ability to handle the Presidency."
Judy Teller, East Hampton
"Starr is just trying to find some dirt and Tripp is trying to write a novel. It's all so blown out of proportion compared to what they should be doing."
Elizabeth Sarfati
Librarian, East Hampton
"If you listen to the media, it's like the end of the world. It's a tempest in a teapot. He's not the only President who's screwed around. I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt."
Ali Cole, East Hampton
"I don't know that I have a strong opinion - I don't dislike Clinton, but I'm disappointed. . . . There's something about us that loves to tear down our heroes."
William J. Fleming
Attorney, East Hampton
"There are really only two answers to the whole thing. We shouldn't get involved in the President's sexual issues. We don't even know if it's true, but humans are sexual animals. It's possible it happened. It happened with previous Presidents. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it but maybe the most important thing is how it influences younger people who look up to the President and are not hardened to reality like we are."
Mickey Miller, Springs
"It's not important to me. Men just seem to have an agenda. Why should we have to be subjected to the President's indelictos? He has Secret Service. He must know that everything he does is scrutinized. But the nation should not be focusing on this at all."
Jennifer Monroe, Montauk
"If he did what he is alleged to have done, it was stupid to begin with, but it would be triply stupid to make categorical denials. It could be that Clinton is telling the truth about never asking anyone to lie and that what he and Vernon Jordan advised Miss Lewinsky was to take the Fifth Amendment."
"My own opinion is that who a President sleeps with or commits adultery with is totally irrelevant."
Victor Rabinowitz
Attorney, New York City
"They're wasting their time and making us the laughing stock of the world. If it's true, it's true, but it should wait until he's out of office."
Trisha Cusimano, Montauk
"I think the pervasiveness of the media in every aspect of politics except the important matters is absurd. . . . He's a lame-duck. Let him finish out his Presidency. It's an embarrassment."
Meg Cossentino, Montauk
"Aside from the possible deplorable act, it's an ax job on the part of the Republican Party. They'll go to any lengths to demean this guy. It saddens me because there is so much emphasis in this country on naughtiness and sex. . . . I really think if it's true, he should have owned up to it from the start."
John Pelligrino, East Hampton
"He's gotten out of it before. He just doesn't know when to quit. Just because he is President, it doesn't mean he should be able to get away with anything. I think he should suffer the consequences."
Ted Tillinghast
Owner, East Hampton Hardware
"I was watching CNN and my 6-year-old and my 10-year-old were standing behind me. I didn't see them and the discussion was whether oral sex was different than sexual intercourse. Then my 6-year-old asked me if President Clinton is in trouble. I said, 'He might be. He may have done something bad."
"Part of the downside of this is that things you don't want the kids to hear are on mainstream television. You try to [monitor] the shows they watch. I never had to worry about CNN."
Joe Gaviola, Montauk
"Too many reporters. Too much newsprint. Not an issue in sight."
Tom Friedman
Owner, Who'd A Thought,
East Hampton
"From what I've watched and the clips I've read, I think it's a joke and the whole thing is a waste of time. If his wife can stay with him and eat with him, why should we, as a country, have a problem with it? . . .It should stay in the bedroom."
Nabil Bahi, Springs