So who could have been the Republican fixer in the Clinton/Ken Starr event? Could our ever faithful friend Arlen Specter have been the one?
The Republican senators were clear from the very beginning that they would not stand for the presidency to be “tainted” by an impeachment conviction. Over the course of more than a century, and perhaps two, the senate, as a body, has decided that the president is “above the law”.
The Gingrich house, on the other hand, were not as calcified, and had far less problem impeaching Clinton. And like Andrew Johnson before him, though he “won”, by not being convicted, Clinton was likewise effectively neutered for the rest of his term.
Don’t be too appalled, however. Few Americans could see the real workings of Washington, D.C. and not come away traumatized and appalled.