Opinion: Let us get beyond embarrassments of the Clinton era

Thank God the Clinton administration is ending. The last eight years prove that anyone can grow up to be president in this country. Let's hope and pray that the moral fiber of our nation has not been torn beyond repair and that we can quickly put this period of national embarrassment behind us.

Each of us, whether Democrat or Republican, should make a personal vow that we will do a better job in all elections than we did in 1992 and 1996. Character is important and does make a difference! And political parties have a responsibility to ensure that the process does not put forth candidates for high office who do not have the moral fiber, ethics or integrity required of these positions.

I realize this might be a lot to ask for, but as citizens of the greatest nation on Earth, we deserve nothing less!
-- Edward E. Schultz, Weeki Wachee

It will be a difficult goodbye

Re: "America has done well," Clinton says, Jan. 19.

Saying goodbye to William Jefferson Clinton, our 42nd president, is going to be difficult for me. As President Clinton exits the White House, our country will lose a majestic leader, who was also graced with the qualities of being an eloquent orator.

With all due respect to President-elect George W. Bush, I find it to be less painful to read his oral statements in the newspaper on the following day. It is much too distressing for me to struggle along with him, while he mispronounces and stumbles over words, which appear to be foreign to him -- because someone else has written them. Yes, it is going to be a long four years.
-- JoAnn Lee Frank, Clearwater

Jackson, Clinton showed lack of morals

Re: Scandal may not damage Jackson, Jan 19.

How sad that in this day and age, we have become so accustomed to infidelity and lying that they don't make any difference. What a great headline for a story. One thing we fail to remember is the fact that Jessie Jackson professes to be a man of God, who is supposed to be setting an example to the young people of this country, just as President Clinton was supposed to be doing. They have both failed at their jobs.

The Rev. Jackson pretended to council President Clinton at the same time he was having an illicit affair of his own. If his conduct makes no difference, then why did he choose to postpone many of his upcoming appointments? Certainly this is a personal matter between him and his family, but when you are professing to be an authority on morality, you should at least keep your behavior above reproach.

In 2 Timothy, God is speaking to those who profess to be his followers and preach his holy word. "But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry." In this situation, the Rev. Jackson certainly forgot to keep his head. President Clinton had no real excuse and neither does Jackson. What they both have is a lack of morals.
-- Fran Glaros, Clearwater

A bias too obvious

I have been tempted to discontinue your paper many, many times because of biased reporting (a constant attack against conservatives and/or Republicans and high praises for liberals and/or Democrats), but Friday's paper really wins the contest. If Sen. John Ashcroft had even winked at another woman, he would have merited five full pages of disparagement, including a front-page spread with color pictures.

I found the tiny article about the Rev. Jesse Jackson, one of the Democratic Party's leading figures, in a little corner of the front page with two thumb-sized pictures and the headline Scandal may not damage Jackson. It went on to note that "Observers say he should emerge with his activist credentials intact."

This kind of scandal in the Republican Party would have received pages upon pages of related articles for days and possibly even weeks. Please -- you people are so obvious it is incredible.
-- Shelly Munoz, Belleair

A sad day

For this Democrat, today is the saddest day in American history as a man the majority of Americans does not want becomes our president. Sadly, the man planning to lead the protest marches has now emerged as an adulterer, disappointing us doubly. Lastly, there is Ralph Nader, whose selfish stupidity swung the election to the right. This should be a wake-up call to all citizens to fix our election system now. We must:

1. Get all eligible voters registered, especially the poor who were disqualified due to petty irregularities in 2000.

2. Do away with the obsolete Electoral College system and let each and every vote count equally.

3. Allow felons who have paid their debt to participate in elections.

4. Modernize all voting equipment, especially in Florida. In a computer dominated world, do we really need punch cards? Call in Bill Gates for a solution; he will fix it.

Al Gore, this American is so sorry she did not do more.
-- Adele Ida Walter, Tampa

For liberals, morality doesn't matter

What more graphic illustration of liberal hypocrisy than the analysis that Jesse Jackson's extra-marital affair and resulting out-of-wedlock child will "unlikely do significant long-term damage to his influence as one of the Democratic Party's leading figures."

It is not a question of forgiving immoral behavior; "morality" is a vilified term in the liberal lexicon. Morality implies responsible behavior, but the entire liberal agenda fosters irresponsibility: abortion to avoid the consequences of irresponsible sex; needle exchange programs to avoid the consequences of irresponsible drug use; abolition of the death penalty to avoid the consequences of the most anti-social types of behavior.

The extent of loyalty among liberals is determined by the extent to which one conforms to the liberal agenda. So what if a liberal suffers personal lapses? After all, his/her head is in the right place. What matters is what he/she has done to expound liberal philosophy.

Scandal may not damage Jackson is not front-page headline news. That's a given. The news would be if it did.
-- Dave Highlands, St. Petersburg

Jackson's hypocrisy

Jesse Jackson, on his planned protests against the election of George W. Bush said: "We want Bush to understand that while he may occupy the White House, he will be there illegitimately." Hmm. That's not the only illegitimate issue involving Jesse Jackson, is it?

In 1998, when Jesse Jackson was advising Bill Clinton on how to spiritually deal with his affair with Monica Lewinsky, Jesse was running around with Karin Stanford, an aide who is 20 years younger. This running around eventually led to a baby -- talk about hypocrisy! He is advising Clinton on how to handle his affair, while he was having one of his own!

Of course, he came out with the standard "I'm truly very sorry" apology, which means nothing in this day and age. How can this man spiritually lead people when he is breaking the Ten Commandments?
-- Scott Layden Jr., Brandon

Bitterness can taint dialogue

Re: Experience colors our view of history, Jan. 10.

Bill Maxwell should read again his column of Jan. 10. It is a wonderful piece full of the now-aged idealism we both had as youths. Then he should read again his columns that attacked those who supported Ralph Nader during the recent election campaign.

When we were young we acted on principles that were often unpopular. I supported and voted for Nader on principles. I stand by them. Maxwell and I disagreed. That is a good thing. He thinks I was wrong; I think he was wrong. That is okay. What is not okay is the bitterness he apparently feels for what I did.

We should exchange ideas and opinions. We should not be petty about our differences. It will only mitigate the effectiveness of our dialogue.
-- Dave Williamson, St. Petersburg

Canadian perspectives

Re: There's lots to like about Canada, Jan. 13.

Susan Taylor Martin was bang on target with her observations of Canadian life. I could not agree with her more. However, as a Canadian enjoying the last 11 winters with my southern cousins in Hernando County, I have a few observations of my own.

I don't really think that Canadians drive slower than Americans, but if we do it is probably because the value of our "loonie" forces us to slow down, so that we don't miss a chance to "the spot the dot" and save at Bealls Outlet. We leave our lights on all the time because, as you Americans know, there is not much sunlight in the polar region.

As far as understanding the metric system, Martin is bang on again. We are so confused, that the weather is either hot or cold, (mostly cold), the distance is either close or far away, and the food is either a lot or a little.

She is also correct regarding our wonderful Canadian Via Rail. It is second to none in the world. The only problem is, that with all that snow, who wants to go outside . . . anywhere.

It was nice to have our beer referred to as "fine," even though we believe it to be the best in the world. And then where would you folks be without our Canadian Club and Canadian Mist whiskey? And yes, Canadians do like Americans, whom we find to be decent, honest people, and we have no problem with a little ribbing about our frugality. But, my gosh, please, we thought everyone knew that the greatest hockey player that ever lived is Gordie Howe. And don't forget we have those great Royal Canadian Mounted Police and their classy uniforms. And how about the greatest actor to ever come out of Canada, Capt. James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise?

Thank you for not mentioning the Canadian Football League, which we are all trying very hard to ignore. Thank God for Buffalo (Go, Bills, Go . . . next year).

So, all in all, I must concur with Susan's overall view of Canadian life, with one exception: our glorious prime minister. Anyone who has had a 40-year career in politics must be brimming with brilliance, have an abundance of ideas and oodles and oodles of charisma, and that person is our prime minister. Oh, I forget, what is his name, anyway? Eh?
-- John Bates, Brooksville

Good neighbors, eh

Re: There's lots to like about Canada, Jan. 13.

I really enjoyed your expose of the Canadian life! I realize it was tongue in cheek, but still there were a lot of good points. To add to your information, we nickname our $2 coin a "toonie." Most Canadians, like me, come to Florida to escape the "arctic air!"

However, we also have many U.S. friends we look forward to seeing every fall when we come from the north. We think there should be a lot more Canadian content in the St. Petersburg Times, especially when there are so many snowbirds driving around with their lights on !

Good neighbors make good friends -- eh!
-- Marilyn Schinbein, Dunedin

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