Petty scandals and small ideas.

• Author: Bresler, Robert J.

There is much lamenting among the chattering class that politics has become simultaneously nasty and boring. How Newt Gingrich's convoluted use of tax-exempt foundations to propagate the faith violated the IRS code is a total muddle to the average voter and even can befuddle a tax attorney. The Whitewater investigation rambles on with an odor of corruption, but who can explain why? The details of both are mind-numbing.

On the other hand, anyone can grasp the Paula Jones Affair. Yet, it has stirred little interest. The unsavory story of Pres. Clinton and Mrs. Jones has invoked none of the indignation that arose from feminists over Clarence Thomas' alleged off-color remarks to Anita Hill. Liberal commentator Ellen Goodman, offering a most convoluted defense of Clinton, has claimed that making one pass at a woman, no matter how bizarre it may be, does not constitute sexual harassment. If the harasser is rebuffed and does not pursue the matter, Goodman claims no harm, no foul. That argument may work in basketball, but should fail in the court of common sense. It is a defense worthy of Johnny Cochran.

Years may pass before lawyers will argue about the details of Clinton vs. Jones in court. Should the Supreme Court uphold the President's claim of immunity, Jones' lawyers may have to wait until Clinton is out of office and ensconced in his presidential library before they can take his deposition. By then, even fewer will care.

If the Whitewater case is boring and Paula Jones is unconvincing. what of Clinton's renting (if not selling) of the Lincoln Bedroom to high rollers who empty their wallets into Democratic Party coffers? This is unseemly, but not necessarily illegal. Exploiting White House data bases for fund-raising purposes may catch a few Clinton aides and Democratic National Committee (DNC) functionaries in a legal tangle. The result will elicit some tut-tuts from the media and some howls from the Republicans. No one should expect that it will rock the Republic or upend the President.

Will the smoking gun be uncovered in the DNC/John Huang foreign money scandal? Let's not hold our breath on this either. Should the Attorney General call for an independent counsel, it only will assure that the scandal will be dragged across the bridge into the 21st century. Since the law's inception in 1978, these investigations have been interminable. Iran-contra took six years, and Whitewater should break that mark. In the foreign money scandal, with so...