Stop Playing Pin-the-Scandal on the Clintons

As a retired journalist who has always admired the Monitor's fair approach, I am disappointed that it has joined the parade of premature Clinton bashers. Of course one can always rationalize that selected quotes from Clinton's opponents, such as Sen. Richard Lugar, are news. One might argue that opinion polls concerning Hillary Rodham Clinton likewise are newsworthy (front-page article ``Public's View of Hillary Clinton Splits Along Age, Gender Lines,'' March 28). It was significant that in this article, the mention of former first ladies' influence on their husbands omitted reference to Nancy Reagan. She relied on an astrologer's guidance and impacted presidential decisions.

The scandals of the Nixon, Reagan, and Bush administrations were far more serious than any of the questions that have been raised about the Clintons.

The author concedes that the Clintons' tax returns revealed nothing illegal, but he implies that perhaps we should be suspicious of someone who makes money by investing in commodities: ``The investment was not illegal, but it does show that she was no purist ....'' Robert A. Sethre, Roswell, N.M.

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