Comparing Clinton with war-era England is pornographic. ------------------------------------- June 12, 1999 New York Times
Clinton to Republicans: `Lighten Up' By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
WASHINGTON -- President Clinton said on Friday that Republicans opposed his policies because they were frustrated that a Democrat had won the White House and taken up all of its perks, like parking spaces, and he suggested that they "lighten up."
In an interview with the PBS program "The News Hour," the President was asked why most House Republicans had not supported the bombing campaign in Kosovo. The interviewer, Jim Lehrer, suggested that Clinton may have squandered his trust with voters, and he quoted Senator Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, as saying, "This President has debased the one currency we each have in this business, and that's trust, and he'll never get it back."
Clinton called that remark self-serving and insisted he was trustworthy. He said a historian had noted that he had kept a higher percentage of his commitments to voters than had any of the five Presidents who preceded him.
The President went on to say that Republicans had spent more than seven years "attacking me personally because they knew the American people agreed with my ideas and the direction in which I was taking the country, and on one occasion, much to my eternal regret, I gave them a little ammunition," a reference to the extramarital affair that led to his impeachment.
"But I have been trustworthy in my public obligations to the American people," Clinton said. He also said he had been trustworthy in his dealings with the Republicans, even though he did not always agree with them.
"We've gotten quite a lot done when they have put aside their personal frustration at not owning the White House," Clinton said. "The truth is, you know, those folks ought to lighten up."
He said Republicans believed they were entitled to the White House. "They never thought there'd be another Democratic President in their lifetime, and they're all gearing up again because they think they're entitled to the parking spaces outside here and to the office space and all," he said.
"They ought to just relax and realize I'm a temporary tenant," Clinton added.
The President dismissed the notion that he could not be trusted, saying that such a personal attack was all the Republicans could muster because the country was in such good shape.
"You just get madder and madder when the country does well," he said, "then all you have left is a personal attack and say, 'Oh, I just don't trust the guy.' But that's not good for America."