CULTURAL REVOLUTIONSrnWILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTONrnand his supporters have stepped up theirrnefforts to restore repubhcan governmentrnto the United States. Responding to thernStarr report —and the accompanyingrnboxes of documentation sent to Congressrn—the President’s liberal championsrntook up the chant that “It’s all about sex”rnand argued that the real debate in thernHouse Judiciary Committee is over therndefinition of an impeachable offense, hirnshielding Mr. Clinton’s private life fromrnpublic scrutiny, the Democratic leadershiprntook rhetorical cynicism to newrnheights: One “scholar” went on NationalrnPublic Radio to point out that AlexanderrnHamilton had engaged in an affair whenrnhe was secretary of the treasury, and nobodyrnimpeached him. On talk radio, thisrnnew bit of historical erudition quickly replacedrnthe Harding scandal and the Jefferson-rnand-the slave-girl romance, andrnno Republican, apparently, was brightrnenough to point out that Cabinet officialsrnare not impeached or that Hamiltonrncarried on his affair outside the office,rnnot within work hours, and with arnwoman who was not working for him.rnBut why stick at these details? Sex is sexrnis private life —right?rnThe liberals are right, of course, hirnany sane society, a President’s private lifernwould not be a fit topic for discussion,rnmuch less for an impeachment. Thatrnboys will be boys is hardly startling information,rneven for Americans who are keptrnin the dark about politics. We may notrnbelieve in having babies anymore, but byrnthe age of 16 most of us have the practicalrnknowledge that can only come fromrnexperience, and no one who has everrnknown a politician of either party canrnhave much doubt about the moral standardsrnof American statesmen.rnConservatives used to make jokesrnabout the amours of Franklin Rooseveltrnand Jack Kennedy, and many journalistsrnknew about Jack Kennedy’s processionrnof bimbos. But even editors who mightrnhave had reason to get even with thernrum-runner’s boy kept their mouthsrnshut. Why? Most of them probablyrnthought—as I do now—that under ordinaryrncircumstances, the nation is betterrnoff not to know that we have Don Juan asrnpresident than to get bogged down in thernsewer of Jack Kennedy’s private life. ThernKing of Camelot apparently consideredrnstrange women like so much orangernjuice: No day was complete without havingrnsex with at least one of them. (Hisrnsuccessor-a Modred if ever there wasrnone —is not even man enough to bed thernbroads he chases.)rnBut that was then and this is now. JackrnKennedy lived in the bad old days of thernpatriarchy, when straight male dinosaursrnruled the planet, before feminists had reducedrnall relations between men andrnwomen to the level of rape and intimidation.rnThose were the days when a manrncould say, “Lovely dress you’re wearing,”rnto his secretary, without getting fired orrnsentenced to sensitivity training. InrnI960, there was no Civil Rights Act guaranteeingrnspecial privileges to women as arnminority —even though women outnumberrnmen in our societv and have thernpower to vote for anyone or anythingrnthey like.rnIn the Kennedy era, women had notrnyet destroyed the character of our servicernacademies or undermined the effectivenessrnof police forces. This was even beforernpeople like Donna Shalala had imposedrnanti-white-male quotas and queerrnstudies requirements on universities.rn”Those were the days, my friend,” butrnthev are gone, thanks to the efforts of Billrnand Hillary Clinton, their friends DonnarnShalala, Janet Reno, and Patricia Irelandrn—and virtually every other friend,rnmentor, disciple, and plaything connectedrnto this administration. But now whenrnthe people who write the rules are caughtrnin the wringer thev have set up for thernrest of us, suddenly sexual harassment isrnsomething personal, even when it is inflictedrnin the work place, by the CEO ofrna company. Even when that CEO advisesrnyou on how to lie under oath andrnhelps you to find a job.rnI’d be tempted to describe the liberals’rndefense of Clinton as hypocritical, but itrnisn’t. Since the I960’s, they have elevatedrnwhining into a moral code and designedrna two-track political system basedrnon the principle of one law for the rubesrnand one law for the political class and thernprivileged minority groups that givernthem their power. Anyone with half arnbrain knew from the beginning that affirmativernaction and welfare could onlyrnhurt blacks—and it only took neoconservativesrn20 years to figure it out. But whatrnis the life of tens of millions of our fellowrncitizens compared with the chance tornmake money and feel good about yourself?rnHere’s the only deal a self-respectingrnconservative ought to cut with the Clintons:rnWe’ll let you go down in history asrna great progressive President. We’ll droprnthe charges, wipe out the historicalrnrecord (our establishment is good atrnrewriting history), and all you have to dornis give us back the country the way it wasrnbefore you and your friends ruined it.rnJust erase every sexual harassmentrnstatute, every quota, every special privilegerngranted since Jack Kennedy stolernthe election of I960. For that kind ofrndeal, I’d be happy to waive the 22ndrnAmendment and make Bill ClintonrnPresident for life. He can’t be any worsernthan the new George Bush.rn—Thomas FlemingrnKosovo ALBANIANS have beenrnwell supplied with arms and money.rnSome of the support has come from Islamicrnfundamentalists in the MiddlernEast, and some from the extensive heroinrntrade controlled by Albanians. Morernrecently, as Germany’s Social Democratsrnand their Green coalition partnersrnprepared to take over the reins of governmentrnin Bonn, evidence came to lightrnthat German secret services have beenrninstrumental for years in helping the Albanianrnseparatist movement in Kosovo.rnWTiile the government of ex-ChancellorrnHelmut Kohl had officially backedrnthe Western policy of seeking a negotiatedrnsolution (before that policy gave wayrnto yet another wave of “bomb-the-Serbs”rneuphoria), the Bonn government wasrnluidermining that policy on the ground.rnBehind the scenes, German civil andrnmilitar)’ intelligence services have beenrninvolved in training and equipping thernKosovo rebels for years. Their objectivernwas to foment armed rebellion againstrnSerbia and thus strengthen Germany’srnautonomous sphere of influence in thernBalkans, where Bonn has conducted arnremarkably active policy—quite independentlyrnof its European partners —everrnsince Yugoslavia started breaking uprnalmost a decade ago.rn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn