Reader Jeff Smith asks in “Starr’s agenda” (Voice, June 4) regarding the investigation of the president, “Does anyone really give a darn?” Yes, Mr. Smith, I do.
I and the majority of people I know, none of whom are “Bible-thumping ultraconservatives,” are very interested.And it is not because we care who the president chooses to sleep with or how many extramarital affairs he may have had. Character aside, it is because we believe we should expect and demand that the person who leads our country abide by our laws. If the president blatantly chooses to disregard them, then he has no business being president.
Why on Earth should he be exempt from the laws that govern the rest of us? If these allegations are true but ignored, what kind of precedent is established? Would we all then be free to lie under oath and encourage others to do so, or would it remain exclusively a presidential privilege?
Further, I would like to remind Mr. Smith, and those who share his opinion, that this is not Ken Starr’s agenda; it is the agenda of the Justice Department that believed there was enough evidence to warrant an investigation. Mr. Starr is simply doing the job assigned to him.
As for putting a speedy end to this and turning over any incriminating material, when the president and the advisers (who are paid with our tax dollars) stop their stalling tactics, I am sure that is exactly what Mr. Starr will do.
