Treason and bribery were clear, but that was not quite enough. So vague, we might ourselves complain. But the question is not what might have been impeachable in 1787, but what is in 1998. The framework is solid, for the ages.
Individual offenses are more the fabric of an age.
That's not to say that perjury would not fit under those circumstances. If the House Judiciary Committee approves articles of impeachment, the 435 current representatives will have to judge whether Clinton's transgressions amount to an impeachable offense. Perhaps the most frequently quoted definition was offered in 1970 by then-Congressman Gerald Ford. Ford was speaking in the context of starting impeachment proceedings against Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas. Little did Ford know that in just four years the imminent impeachment of President Richard Nixon would lead to Ford becoming the nation's only unelected president.