Scandalous Talk in Washington (again)

BY DAVID OPPENHEIM

Throughout the history of the United States, it seems that there have been three certainties: death, taxes, and corrupt politicians. Our free press has devoted a great deal of its time and space over the years to the last of these three. From investigative reports to political cartoons, from the Burr Conspiracy to Teapot Dome to Watergate to Abscam, the members of our government always seem to be engaging in acts of wrongdoing. The result has been a general mistrust by the American people of their elected officials. It has gotten to the point where the average American, when asked to free-associate a word with "congressman," overwhelmingly comes up with "crook."

Today, there is more scandal than ever. The President of the United States has been accused of a large number of ethics violations, each of which has been dubbed a certain "-gate" by an unimaginative press. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, the leader of the opposing party, has also had a bevy of charges filed against him. The Democratic Party has been accused of significantly violating campaign finance laws, and they claim, perhaps rightfully, that the opposition's books are no cleaner than their own. Are today's leaders actually more fundamentally dishonest than their predecessors, or are we simply viewing more of their dirty laundry than before?

Certainly, the press coverage of Washington and its inhabitants changed dramatically after 1972. The success of two Washington Post journalists at uncovering a series of felonious acts by President Nixon and officials in his administration has given every member of the national press corps the dream of being the next Bob Woodward, ES '65, or Carl Bernstein. Character flaws of officials and candidates turned up in print and on the nightly news like never before. The shift is evident: President Kennedy's sexual exploits, while known to many members of the press, were not divulged to the public, while a dalliance by Gary Hart 20 years later was given blanket coverage and quite possibly cost him the presidency.

The press are not the only ones at fault for this explosion of charges and countercharges, however. The politicians themselves have become like a collection of guerrilla fighters, hurling charges at the opposition and then ducking for cover. This has developed along partisan lines and is largely responsible for today's acrimonious relations between opposing party leaders.

One of the foremost creators of this atmosphere is a man who has had to fend off 190 separate ethics complaints ranging from the totally frivolous to moderately serious violations of finance law and lying, Speaker Newt Gingrich. His crusade against then-Speaker Jim Wright in 1989 has in turn sparked the current Democratic effort at revenge. While it is unlikely that Gingrich will lose his job, since he was reelected speaker just last week by a comfortable 11-vote margin, the atmosphere in Washington will certainly detract from any governing Gingrich attempts.

With partisanship at possibly an all-time high and a national press populated by bloodhounds with very sharp teeth, it is very unlikely that we will be given any sort of respite from the constant charges and countercharges. This is disappointing for two reasons. First, citizens will become, and are becoming, cynical and unable to distinguish actual wrongdoing from overhyped, penny-ante scandal. Second, qualified citizens will be, and are being, dissuaded from seeking office because they have no desire to enter the inquisitive atmosphere of contemporary Washington, where the order of the day is to call a lawyer and then blame the opposition. So, whether it is something real or merely perceived, political corruption will certainly continue--as inevitable as death or taxes.

Back to Opinion...