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| BEYOND THE BELTWAY | |
 January 18, 1999 
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So welcome to you all. Jin Whang, let me begin with you and ask whether those numbers that you just heard from Andy Kohut and those opinions reflect attitudes on your campus. |
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JIN WHANG: Yes. I certainly agree with them. When we wrote about the -- what students felt last semester when we first read and heard of the Starr Report, I think the general feeling was that, you know, the same as now, the president's doing his job. You know, we agreed -- we all agreed as a staff for the Daily Trojan that the farthest that we hope this would go was censure, and now that the trial is going on, I think people still feel the same. It hasn't affected the way they felt. If anything, there is a greater apathy toward what's going on. And people still feel the same. There hasn't been a change. TERENCE SMITH: Greg Thomas, is that the situation at Hampden-Sydney?
TERENCE SMITH: Why? GREGORY THOMAS: At Hampden-Sydney, we're a school steep in tradition. This is based on an honor code which guards the three basic principles I shall not lie, cheat, or steal. Here's a situation where the leader of our country has, you know, could have broken one of these promises. And if he were a student at our Hampden-Sydney, he would be expelled. Yet, here he is the leader of our country and he gets to keep his job. TERENCE SMITH: Dan Alter at the University of Wisconsin, is that the prevailing attitude?
TERENCE SMITH: Sharif Durhams, is that the view where you are among the students and in your own view? SHARIF DURHAMS: Well, people on our campus are paying attention to what's going on. The community has kept up with what's going on. But when it comes to day-to-day coverage, are people glued to the televisions and watching it; that's definitely not happening. Even the televisions in our journalism school are tuned to these programs and people aren't stopping to see what's going on. They'd certainly rather have their soap operas on. TERENCE SMITH: Christine Whelan, it sounds like a low level of interest and different opinions on what should happen to the President. What about Princeton?
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| Failing to engage the students. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TERENCE SMITH: If that's so, if this trial, if this moment of history has failed to engage students, why? CHRISTINE WHELAN: Well, right now we're in the middle of finals. We are wrapped up in what we are going to do after graduation, and as long as the job market continues to boom and investment banks keep hiring, I think college students are happy. TERENCE SMITH: Jin Whang, to the degree that people are paying attention, does this trial strike you and fellow students as a fair trial or a partisan exercise?
TERENCE SMITH: Dan Alter, is there also an assumption perhaps that the end is foregone, that the President is not likely to be removed? Does that explain some of it? DAN ALTER: I think that's certainly part of it. I think that there's a general understanding that as far as the Republicans want to take this, it's very, very unlikely to end up with anything but a censure. And also I think people realize that because the vote was so partisan, it wasn't about issues that the Republicans had spoken about, like morality and values. It just came down to a strict issue of partisanship. And I think that's an affront to the American people and the people realize that. And I think a lot of people are sort of offended and turned off by that, as well. TERENCE SMITH: But that's not the way you see it, Greg Thomas? GREGORY THOMAS: Many people might be turned off by the party battle, you know. I think that many people are looking - I mean, at least I'm looking at it as I would like to see our leaders look at this as - you know -- it as their constitutional responsibility to make a quality decision here. I mean, this is something that's going to affect everybody, and this is -- if there's any time I have been allowed that we needed the political leaders to rise above mere partisanship, it's right now. TERENCE SMITH: Sharif Durhams, what's your view of President Clinton and the job he's doing and has that view been affected by this whole scandal and this trial?
TERENCE SMITH: Christine Whelan, how's he seen at Princeton? |
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| The image of the presidency. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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CHRISTINE WHELAN: Well, I certainly think that this hurts the idea of a president. Certainly we don't view Clinton as a role model. And I think that this also damages for our generation the idea of going into public service. I mean, we're not going to go into public service with this the same idealism of our parents' generation, given what this president and this congress have done. TERENCE SMITH: Greg.
TERENCE SMITH: His excellent demagoguery, Jin Whang, is that the way you see it? JIN WHANG: Well, I was kind of thrown off by those two words, but I do agree that if there are people that want to make a difference, they will go into public service. Perhaps the negativity generated by the recent events may even encouraging other people to go and do right if they view that what's been done wrong. But I think there is another thing to look at, and that would be that the cynicism or mistrust we have toward politicians is even greater now. TERENCE SMITH: Yes. Dan Alter, one of the big questions in this trial all along and still not resolved is, is it about sex or is it about lying, perjury, obstruction, et cetera. What is your view? TERENCE SMITH: Christine Whelan, you were shaking your head. |
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| Private lives vs. public lives. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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TERENCE SMITH: Sharif Durhams, one of the issues here has been that point, it is about private lives or public lives. One of the features has been the disclosing of private lives. I wonder how that strikes you, s -- both as an individual and as an editor.
TERENCE SMITH: Greg Thomas, to you it's about integrity; it's about lying; and it's about what you expect from a president? GREGORY THOMAS: Exactly. And I would have to agree with the last speaker in that the media has definitely purported this to be - or at first, I think a lot of people were interested in it because it - you know, to the average citizen it was about sex and mass media sort of pandered to the lowest common denominator in public opinion. Now we're in a situation where now it's about the Constitution. Now it's about what exactly constitutes removing a President from office. And this is turning off many of the people, you know. But at the heart of the entire issue lies the dignity of the institution of the presidency. TERENCE SMITH: Jin Whang, what would you think if you saw Monica Lewinsky sitting in the well of the Senate testifying, answering questions? What impression would it strike you? JIN WHANG: You mean impression of her or - the trial? TERENCE SMITH: As a witness. In other words, if as now seems possible, witnesses are called in this trial and if we reach a point where theoretically Monica Lewinsky is sitting there answering questions, I wonder what you would think of that.
TERENCE SMITH: Okay. That's all the time we have. I'm afraid. Thank you all very much. |
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TERENCE
SMITH: Joining us now for a different perspective five college newspaper
editors: Sharif Durhams of the Daily Tar Heel at the University
of North Carolina; Jin Whang of the Daily Trojan at the University
of Southern California; Dan Alter of the Badger-Herald at the
University of Wisconsin; Gregory Thomas of the Hampden-Sydney Tiger
in Virginia; and Christine Whelan of the Daily Princetonian at
Princeton University. 
GREGORY
THOMAS: Well, we're not apathy free certainly, but many of the students
are interested in public affairs and are looking at the situation we're
in very closely. We're quite different from the last speaker there.
I think that the majority of the students on our campus, certainly not
all, but the majority would say they would like to see the President
removed from office.
DAN
ALTER: Not at all. There's a strong general consensus here that this
whole thing has gone way too far, and that it needs to be ended as swiftly
as possible. This is a pretty liberal campus. And I think basically
people -- there's almost an air of surrealism surrounding the whole
thing. I think people had sort of -- there's an underlying awareness
of the whole process, but one morning when we all woke up and the newspaper
is saying Clinton is impeached, I mean, it caught people off-guard.
It was almost -- they couldn't really understand why he was impeached.
And I think that basically most people here think that it needs to be
ended sooner rather than later. 
CHRISTINE
WHELAN: At Princeton, the "Daily Princetonian" we came out with a staff
editorial in late September calling for the resignation of President
Clinton. I don't think that fits with the consensus of campus opinion.
Later in December, about 75 students came out to protest the impeachment
of Clinton. But that's 75 out of a student body of 4500. So I think
for the most part it's a non-issue at our campus. 
JIN
WHANG: Oh, I think everyone will agree that it is a strictly a partisan
battle. And I think that is why people may have -- are not tuned in
with it. They're tired of it. They know the arguments from both parties,
and they're just tired of it. It's the same thing over and over again.
SHARIF
DURHAMS: Well, what the scandal and trial show is that President Clinton,
although he is a good leader, he can engage people; people pay attention
to him. He, unfortunately, cannot get beyond scandals that he has produced
and just the partisanship in Washington. He can't get Republicans to
agree with him. He also can't get beyond the scandals of Whitewater
and his infidelities. And, therefore, that has hurt his ability to preside.
People still feel compelled to believe him a lot. He's a very good orator.
But, in fact, he can't get a lot of things done because of these scandals.
GREGORY
THOMAS: Many students, though, would - you know -- if you've been interested
in public affairs and you're still interested in public affairs at the
stage we're at, you know, this one incident isn't going to deter anybody
from wanting to go into public office. I mean, just because one person
got elected to president because of his, you know, excellent demagoguery
doesn't mean that there aren't other people out there who strongly believe
in wanting to help people and won't want to go into public service.
DAN
ALTER: Well, I'll tell you. I mean, it certainly speaks to how certain
segments of our nation feel about sex and issues surrounding it. It's
funny because we wouldn't be having this conversation, you know, Clinton
is not on trial right now because of either the tryst that he had outside
his marriage or because of the perjury. Clinton is on trial because
there's a Republican majority in Congress. I mean, had there been a
Democratic majority and a partisan vote, we wouldn't even be having
this conversation. In essence, it's about neither at this point. You
know, it's almost about the partisanship. It's almost taken over and
overshadowed the issues that should be at hand. 
CHRISTINE
WHELAN: I think I have to disagree with that. I think this is about
lying about a private matter in a public forum when he lied under oath.
A private matter became a public matter. And I definitely think this
is about letting the American people down and about lying about obstruction
of justice and about perjury. And I think the Senate needs to make their
decision based on those facts. 
SHARIF
DURHAMS: Well, I think it's interesting. Although this trial is being
portrayed as one of now higher issues than just sex, I don't think Ken
Starr would have been able to get as far as he had if the issue wasn't
of sex. If it hadn't been about questions of infidelity, Bill Clinton
wouldn't have looked over the truth the way he did if it wasn't an issue
of sex. So I think that has a lot to do with it. And I think that is
a big part of the story. I think that's why a lot of people paid attention
to the story during the past year. 
JIN
WHANG: I think the trial itself will have gone - I mean, we're saying,
God, this has gone, you know, so far. I think that's even going further.
We've had reports. We've heard videotapes, and now it's live and I think
it's just pushing the mark. I think we'll be shocked to see that. I
personally will think, God, where is this going? And I think it's been
said before -- this needs to end now. And I think a lot of people just
want the government to listen to what the public is saying and take
it from there.