Voter's Voice

A few days ago, we asked how you think the Whitewater verdicts in Little Rock may affect the presidential race. We got a ton of e-mail and here's a representative sample. If you'd like to contact us or suggest a topic for a future Voter's Voice, send e-mail to editors@allpolitics.com. And thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts.

"Clinton's True Nature"

The 24 guilty verdicts delivered by the Arkansas jury have helped to further expose Clinton's true nature. Maybe now, Americans will realize their mistake when they elected a pot-smoking draft dodger to the White House. His administration has been a joke and he has made a mockery of the office The positives he has done for this country are greatly outweighed by the negatives. This verdict, along with Clinton's record, will in the end culminate into Bob Dole's rise to the highest office in the land.

-- Jai Chabria, Columbus, Ohio

"Ads....That Are Negative And Misleading"

I think that the guilty verdict by the Whitewater jury will only increase the potential for political advertisements that are negative and misleading.

If we remember to realize that neither side really has any business talking about the ethics of the other side, the Whitewater trial should not impact the outcome of the presidential race.

-- David Bible, Fort Worth, Texas

"Three Convicted Dogs"

When you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas. Now the jury says we have three convicted dogs. A man of President Clinton's education and memory had to know what was going on with Whitewater. It's amazing that all of a sudden he's amending his taxes regarding Whitewater and backstepping the issue.

There is no way you guys can treat this story as a back page issue any more. The man has serious character flaws. Policies and issues mean nothing in our government when you have serious character flaws.

-- Gary Wall, Columbia, S.C.

"A Liar And A Crook"

It's about time a jury came out and told how the president broke the law. I hope that this information (costs) Clinton the election in November. Dole may be old, but he is much better than a liar and a crook. I feel the coverage by press of the matter is so biased by liberal views, the public can't see the whole truth. DOLE IN '96!

Drew McEleney, Clinton, Iowa

"Justice Served"

The Whitewater convictions mean that it is just not a political mud-dredging and that it is justice served. You are known by the company you keep and President Clinton will be known as the business partners of now convicted white-collar criminals.

Americans will not be more likely to believe Mr. Clinton now that his close friends have been found guilty of 24 counts out of 30. He will have a very hard time convincing us that he should lead this nation for four more years and that he knew nothing about his close friend's illegal activities.

Thanks.

-- Jesus Anguiano, Dallas, Texas

"Nothing But A Witness"

The President was nothing but a witness for people he had known when he was governor. Because he was associated in a money-making deal with those who were dishonest, does that make him guilty of dishonesty by association?

If he is guilty of dishonesty and weak character, then there isn't a business man, a politition, or a lawyer in America who isn't knowingly or unknowingly guilty of associating with dishonesty.

Aren't the President's actions now speaking louder than those who are self-righteously throwing stones at him?

-- Pete Davis, Daphne, Ala.

"DNC-Dictated Spin"

Yesterday (May 28) when the news broke, CNN covered it "raw," and for a short time we got an unvarnished version of the verdicts. It was quite enjoyable to watch, especially Judy Woodruff's nonplussed look.

Today, alas, it was back to normal. "Jurors (one shown) found Clinton credible." Jurors, as jurors, have one vote each, but on CNN, some votes are more equal then others. Another spin is extended discussion of how Republicans "may" be planning to exploit the issue. A paraphrasing of the last question asked by that paragon of fairness moderating Talk Back Live -- "Will they (Republicans) go to any lengths to use these verdicts?"

Viewing is dropping fast, ladies and gentlemen. Yesterday you may have enjoyed a momentary uptick, but today's tame, DNC (Democratic National Committee)-dictated spin will quickly offset that.

-- John Stack, Freeport, N.Y.

"A Pitiful Commentary"

Just a couple of observations: If they had not been associated with the President, the McDougals and Tucker never would have been indicted. Why? Because many other failed S&L's were bilked out of many millions more than in this case with no prosecutions at all.

Second: It is a pitiful commentary on the state of national politics today that the President must waste his time repeating his explanations of how his former business associations have nothing to do with either his Governorship or Presidency, that he was not involved in wrongdoings but his associates were.

The son of President Bush was on the Board of Directors of the Silverado and so made significant decisions that led directly to one of the biggest bank failures in history. Nothing splashed on the Bushes, nothing should splash on the Clintons.

-- Spencer M. Ehrman, Jr., Seattle, Wash.

"A Terribly Thin Defense"

I'm thinking that the multitude of documents must have been very convincing to the jury. Cancelled checks, loan notes, etc. are very compelling, indeed.

It was surprising that the defense put on such slight counter argument to the prosecution's abundant documentary collection. I know that if there is a plausible explanation that favors the defendants, then the jury is bound to allow the benefit of the doubt to the defendants. Hence, and especially in retrospect, it was a terribly thin defense to have only Mr. McDougal and President Clinton constitute the full defense case. It seems that the President's testimony covered only the limited aspect of the allegation that as Governor he'd pressured Mr. Hale. Even without pressure on Mr. Hale, jurors seem to have found that the documents in and of themselves were sufficient for the verdicts they rendered.

Now, we'll have to await appeals. Remember that a jury found Colonel Oliver North guilty, and then an appeals court overturned the verdict.

Thanks for this opportunity for input.

-- Fredrick L. Silverman, Greeley, Colo.

"Say Goodnight, Bill"

It is very difficult for me to believe the developments of the past year with respect to Mr. Clinton, the Arkansas-Whitewater situations, what is known as Travelgate, Castle Grande and the number of deaths of U.S. government employees and officials.

One has to listen to and read many sources to understand the meaning of Clinton's years in Arkansas and the last few in D.C. The left-wing establishment, starting with Senator Fulbright's office, controlled the education and political development of one Bill Clinton.

His years in and out of office were full of deceit and cronyism and didn't, in any way, help the people of Arkansas. Education, for example, according to repeatedly used statistics show that Arkansas was 48th or 49th when Clinton became governor and 50th when he left in '92....

...A great part of the blame for these past 3 1/2 years is the main television networks and the major big city newspapers. They will pile on Clinton now, when they should have not believed him in '92 and investigated his background. Apparently, what will be revealed in the coming hot summer days is a picture of two people: the Clintons, deceiving their way to power. I know the first speech I heard Mr. Clinton make, I would have sworn he was a Republican. When I heard he was a "New Democrat," my reaction was, "Yeah, right. He's a socialist, a liberal, a left-wing Democrat that knows he cannot be elected on a liberal or socialist platform."

So here we, the American people, are at a point when not too many of us would be concerned if Clinton resigned or was impeached. You can see it on the faces of those Democrats still trying to deceive the American people. Down deep they know it's all over for the Clinton presidency.

One last thought. I've noticed for the past several years that Republicans talk about ideas, plans, budgets and ways to get the country back and away from Big Government (socialism) while the Democrats in lock step and with most house members and senators, one after another, spew the same nonsense.

The only plan the Democrats have is to raise taxes more and more. That's what I'm getting from their rhetoric. The Democrat members of the House of Representatives must remember when they vilify the Republican Party, they anger millions of Americans: men, women and children, who believe in America, have fought and denigrate the memory of those Republicans who have died for America, and for what? So they could spread their lies? That won't wash.

My final thought is, "Say good-night, Bill." It will be a long dark future for the Democrats.

-- Richard Swift, Covina, Calif.

"Verdict Will Fester"

I think this strongly implicates Bill Clinton. This verdict will fester in the minds of the press and the American people. They will think, "How can Bill Clinton have dealt with these people regularly in business and not been involved in the dirty dealings himself?" He was deeply involved and I believe the press and the American people will see that he has been lying to us all. Bill Clinton is not the nice guy we all thought he was.

-- Kent Taylor, South Bend, In.

"Totally Irrelevant"

I find it very, very unfortunate that the verdicts in the Arkansas trial will perpetuate the political controversy over Whitewater. Whitewater is totally irrelevant to the upcoming election and for our politicians to waste debate on it is saddening. What relevance does Whitewater have to real issues: the economy, balanced budget, crime in the streets, welfare, health care, Medicare

I fear the news media and politicians will focus on this non-issue and spend the next six months kicking over rocks making this election extremely nasty. (I suspect the Doles have a few rocks in their yard that they would rather leave unturned). Take Whitewater and shove it. I don't want to hear any more!!!

-- Fred Raymond, Springfield, Va.

"Arkansas Elite"

This was result of business as usual for the one party-controlled state that existed in Arkansas. Good old boy networks and sleazy deals made by the Arkansas elite. I truly believe these people (including the Clintons) had no idea they were doing anything wrong since this the way business was always conducted in the cozy state of Arkansas.

-- Rob Spera, St. Petersburg, Fla.

"Not Much Impact"

I don't think the Whitewater convictions will ultimately have much impact on the campaign. Bill Clinton will probably lose about five points in the polls right now, maybe somewhat more, but the main long-term effect will be to encourage Republicans to include Whitewater allegations in their personal attacks on Clinton.

Republicans will increase negative attacks and advertisements, and more of these will focus on Clinton's connection to Whitewater. We'll probably see more of the Senate Whitewater hearings on our TV sets, and maybe House hearings too. But I think the American people are smart enough to look past such political games.

Definitely all of this looks very bad for Clinton because people might think he's guilty by association, but the prosecutor explicitly refused to accuse Clinton of anything. Furthermore, one of the jurors who spoke to the media said that Clinton's testimony was credible but really wasn't a factor in their decision, since his testimony dealt with issues other than those on which the jury focused. I don't think that the jury believed convicted perjurer David Hale rather than Clinton, and I don't think that Clinton has done anything wrong in light of the fact that Kenneth Starr's long, thorough, and well-conducted investigation has not resulted in any charges being brought against Clinton.

-- Josh Greenberg, Clayton, Mo.

More Voter's Voice

"A Great President" -- May 24, 1996
"He's History" -- May 16, 1996
GOP Congress Not Omniscient -- May 14, 1996
Strategy For Dole -- May 3, 1996
New Hampshire Voters -- Feb. 20, 1996

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