[The following response was written in reply to another one of Janet McDaniel’s columns, in which she tried to explain why women are not upset over the President’s immoral behavior. Jennifer personally delivered this editorial to the Denton Record-Chronicle on December 22nd. To date they have not published it.]
Dear Ms. McDaniel:
I would like to address your article, “Wake Up, Ya’ll,” from December 18. One of the first things you are told in a statistics class is that you can make a poll say anything. I live in the middle of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the whole country and work with hundreds of people in my job. Of course, all anyone can talk about is what is going on in Washington, and you’re right about one thing. The general consensus is that “a dark cloud is hovering over the holidays” because of one man’s foolishness. But I have only spoken to one woman who doesn’t think the President should be convicted. The vast majority of women that think he should be removed from office cite some of the following reasons.
The most obvious objection to the President is his violation of the rules of management and business. This argument is complete and accurate without any moral implications. If the manager of McDonald’s was caught having an “inappropriate relationship” with one of his employees in his office, he’d be the next in line at the unemployment office-whether he was married or not. Either way, what he did would be punishable by termination. We’re not discussing the President’s private life! He took this woman into the Oval Office! What Clinton did was a gross misuse of his title and a tremendous breach of his responsibilities to the American people. Everyone seems to be worried that with all this going on, Mr. Clinton won’t be able to function effectively as the President–as if this job ever had his full and undivided attention! If it had, he would not have had the time to involve himself with Ms. Lewinsky. If a member of America’s armed forces is caught “fraternizing” (which doesn’t even imply a sexual relationship; it can be as innocent as dating) with a lower ranking member of the armed forces, that officer could be court-martialed and possibly imprisoned. Mr. Clinton is supposed to be the Commander-in-Chief of America’s armed forces. Do you mean to tell us (women) that he does not have to live up to the same code of morality and honor that the men whom he commands must uphold?
Second of all, women have discussed the moral issue. We are appalled at the idea that anyone would try and justify what the president did by saying so many women “either stood in Mrs. Clinton’s shoes or know someone whose marriage was jeopardized or destroyed by an affair.” If there is a pattern developing, then for the sake of wives and children everywhere, maybe it’s time these men started getting what they deserve from us. Every businessman or politician that has an affair should indeed pay the piper. When a child misbehaves, punishment deters him/her from doing it again. If a playmate is punished for an offense, it makes an impact. When adults or children get away with wrong behavior time and again, then what we will have is an epidemic. Men and women alike, who have affairs, generally do not do so as a spur-of-the-moment thing. In Job 24:15 we read that “the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye shall see me’: and he disguises his face.” Something of this nature is thought about and developed as an idea before it is finally put into a plan and then implemented. There is quite a bit of premeditation. Mr. Clinton did not “mess up,” feel terrible about it, confess to his wife, and repent. No! He saw this woman for an extended length of time, and the relationship escalated to the point where they were even giving each other expensive gifts. Not only that, but he has been accused of multiple affairs; Ms. Lewinsky was simply the only one that kept evidence!
The third reason women and men want him out of office is the fact that he blatantly lied to all of us on national television several times before he was finally forced to confess. Even then he was not sorry for what he had done, but directed his anger at us and Kenneth Starr for disrupting his “personal” life! Let us not forget his pathetic bickering over the definition of “sexual relations.” In Matthew 5:28, Jesus said that “whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Trying to beat around the bush in order to get away with it and fool the American people is not the act of a repentant soul. He has no excuse for his perverted and irresponsible behavior–not to mention the despicable example he is setting for the youth of America. A woman on TV defending Clinton made the argument that we no longer live like Ozzie and Harriet did in the 50s, and we need to get over it. The thought of that woman having children truly keeps me up at night. And as a woman about to enter into marriage in two weeks, you have given me a rather dismal outlook (“all men do it”).
You suggested that politicians should worry about the state of “our teenagers” who are dying of drug overdoses. Don’t you realize that this problem has escalated under the Clinton presidency? And why not? He himself on MTV has admitted to smoking marijuana! The other problems you cite are neither new nor original; this is a mere smokescreen on your part.
The final argument that I have heard from American women is, “How can I support this hypocrite?” Every single speech or comment that this man has ever made about women’s rights, women being equal, the importance of the family unit, or anything along those lines has been completely bogus. “You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery?” (Romans 2:22). How many times will we let him lie to us? How many bad precedents should we allow him to set for future leaders? We need to realize that all the things he has done and is trying to get away with are not small things. And most women realize that convicting this man is the beginning of a solution.
Sincerely yours, Jennifer Stratman (now Schaertl), UNT student, Denton, Texas
[Editor’s note on Jennifer’s article: When Janet McDaniel wrote her “home” article telling our elected officials in Washington why women didn’t care about the President’s misconduct, I thought it might be best if a woman answered her. Jennifer did an excellent job; the material is hers, and the edits were few.]