Abiding Ugliness of Soul

No piddly surface stuff here that could be cleaned up with Ajax and a little elbow grease; the stains go right to the core. Even more annoying, they project that ugliness onto everyone around them. They see themselves reflected in the world -- their own flaws and prejudices -- and they, by God, are going to make the rest of us pay for it!

Listen to Mr. Safire's words about President Clinton and his administration: "... exposure of this tissue of lies ... what the president knew and when he knew it ... signs of a criminal conspiracy ... Contempt toward the Senate... Contempt for the public's intelligence ... hold the Supreme Court in contempt ..."

Hmmm. Contemptible stuff, all of this, but haven't we heard it somewhere before? There's a heavy smell of deja vu in the air. Say! Didn't Mr. Safire work for Richard Nixon?

He did! And if you believe that the same kind of evil that oozed from the Nixon administration also emanates from the Clinton camp, then try this experiment. Revive Richard Nixon, prop him up beside Bill Clinton, and compare the two. One is out-going, ebullient, friendly, and optimistic. The other is paranoid, secretive, dark, and vengeful. Can you guess which is which?

Doesn't work, does it? Most people don't have any trouble distinguishing them. We know Bill Clinton well, and we can say this about him: Clinton is no Nixon. Not even from the same universe! Mr. Safire, you're into big-time projectionism here. You're looking to get even, and you're looking at a reflection. You're also feeding a monster -- preaching to the choir of Clinton haters. There's no law against publishing effluvium, but don't expect most people to believe you. And there's no law against ugliness of soul, but don't be surprised if only your mother and the choir love you.