Presidency Resilient Despite Scandals.

• Position: Brief Article

How well does the office of the presidency survive scandal? According to James Pfiffner, professor of government and public policy, George Mason University, Fairfax, Va., and the author of The Modem Presidency, "There will always be things that make people cynical, but there is still a need in the American psyche to respect the presidency and have a strong president."

Despite the fact that the Clinton scandal ended in an impeachment vote, the office of the presidency is resilient, he says. While the American public didn't approve of Pres. Clinton's personal behavior, they also didn't want him removed from office. "It won't scar the presidency in a major way."

In fact, there was a public backlash from events in the presidencies of...