State Leaders Cringe At Report
From New Hampshire to New Mexico, state political leaders cringed at the often lurid details of Kenneth Starr's report and braced for fallout at the polls in November.
"It's just bad for the country. I don't care if you're Democrat or Republican," said Joyce Terhes, Maryland's state Republican Party chairwoman. "But we'll have to go through the process."
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Politicians of all stripes bemoaned the state of modern politics. Democrats acknowledged the potential for damage in November's midterm elections, and President Clinton's harsher critics said they had seen enough to convince them that he should resign.
"If the president really truly felt sorry for what he's done, for the sake of the country he should resign," said Quineta Wylie, chairwoman of Oklahoma's GOP.
The report didn't convince David Opitz, chairman of Wisconsin's Republican Party, that impeachment is necessary. But he said: "I think there has to be some punishment here. Some measure has to be taken. We cannot as a God-fearing Republic tolerate this kind of behavior."
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The White House Response
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Optimistic Democrats said they hope voters in the fall focus on issues, and many Republicans such as Maryland's state Senate Minority Leader Vernon Boozer said the scandal could help the GOP win seats in Congress.
But it could lead to a backlash against both parties, he and others said. "People are really getting so disgusted with politics," Boozer said.
At least one Republican was downright gleeful.
"I'm sitting here reading it. I just think it's, oh, boy. I just got to the cigar page. I mean, what can you say?" said Chris LaCivita, executive director of Virginia's GOP.
Some Democrats running for state office in Texas separated themselves from Clinton. He should resign, said comptrollecandidate Paul Hobby.
"If he wants the nation's forgiveness, I think it is more readily given to a former president than a sitting one," Hobby said.
But other Democrats rallied to the president, pointing out the allegations have not yet been proved and arguing that Starr went too far into Clinton's personal life.
"I think eventually the American people may well condemn the messenger and ultimately forgive and maybe even forget the message," said Mike Turpen, former chairman of Oklahoma's Democratic Party. "If it comes down to just sex, it's a scenario where he who is without sin cast the first stone."
"All these are, are accusations at this point," said California's Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, a Los Angeles Democrat. "Clearly, if they're true, this is a very serious matter, a matter of constitutional import. But I have no way of knowing."
Beyond all the finger-pointing and predictions, many just shook their heads.
Oklahoma Democratic chairman Bob Kerr's reaction: "The deepest disappointment in the political sense I've ever known."
"To tell you the truth, I'm a little red-faced reading it. This is disgusting," Opitz, the Wisconsin Republican, said.