Nothing new under the sun

Post #45,995 by snork 7/18/02 4:24:07 PM Reply	Nothing new under the sun This is not surprising in the slightest. We only need look back to 1998 to see that the American public has a significant disconnect when it comes to ethics and a president's approval rating. Clinton had a whopping [link\|http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/stories/1998/12/20/impeachment.poll/\|73% approval rating] in December after the impeachment started. Just months earlier, [link\|http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/07/29/poll.clinton.lewinsky/\|56% believed he lied] and 46% thought (same ref) he actually obstructed justice. The overlap is even greater here than Bush's. I am really beginning to wonder if, in the current atmosphere of ethical apathy, Nixon could skate away from Watergate. Hell, with the right spin, it might have made him even more popular. "With the bravery of being out of range." - Roger Waters Cliff
Post #46,044 by bepatient 7/19/02 1:01:04 AM Reply	Watergate wouldn't even rate... ...an Independent Counsel now. Compare facts. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #46,080 by snork 7/19/02 12:28:25 PM Reply	Exactly Watergate wouldn't even rate an Independent Counsel now. It really cracks me up when I hear the hissing and loathing generated by discussions of Nixon's trespasses yet a complete pass is given to more current events. "With the bravery of being out of range." - Roger Waters Cliff
Post #46,108 by Ashton 7/19/02 4:18:42 PM Reply	The Thing about Ethic$-free at the top is - it appeals to the innate, Universal dishonesty of (pick yer fav) I want Mine and Screw You\ufffd ie It's contagious - no known antidote except .. maturity? A lengthy process which isn't ever valued highly in a juvenile culture. ie. expect nothing: Be Happy. Ashton
Post #46,156 by inthane-chan 7/19/02 8:13:48 PM Reply	I think it comes down to tolerance. Back in the Watergate days, we weren't quite so aware of the crap going on in the Whitehouse, and now we've developed a certain tolerance to it. Which is really not a good thing for Democracy, by any means. There are 10 types of people. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.
Post #46,252 by snork 7/20/02 11:20:40 PM Reply	Maybe more like punch-drunk The endless parade of scandals from Iran-Contra to Zipper-gate to Enron to ad nauseum has no end in sight. I doubt that tolerance has increased. It seems more like the callouses have thickened and most people have tuned out. Which isn't a good thing for a republic, either. "With the bravery of being out of range." - Roger Waters Cliff
Post #46,267 by Ashton 7/21/02 3:51:11 AM Reply	Well, there's always the chance.. (theoretically) that after some level of universal disgust is reached, that fabled 'groundswell from the grass roots' can function - generating a sustained and serious attention would be necessary. Maybe the last time that occurred was WW-II (?) and most later events were seen to be contrived, political - incapable of galvanizing such allegiance. Overcoming the ad-conditioning and even speech style, which correctly presumes a short attention span - would be hard. But it isn't unthinkable. Ashton

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