Absent such a conclusion, Constitutional experts assume the President will stumble through, perhaps censured by the Congress, hopefully with resolution brought to the issue in such a way that confidence in the Presidency can be reestablished and a basis for public forgiveness achieved. Presidential defenders have suggested that the Independent Counsel's probe has been too wide, too intrusive, too indiscrete, too expensive and too late and that parts of the inquiry lack private, as well as public, sector precedent. Presidential critics, on the other hand, note that the White House bears responsibility both for the acts under review and for much of the delay in their consideration. While personal life generally comes under a privacy rubric, personal indiscretions carry public consequences, and in some instances legal liabilities. In all instances they undercut the moral basis of leadership so important to a moral society.
Historians point out that other Presidents have had affairs.
But as a father and citizen in an era where Presidential news has caused public discourse about the birds and the bees and more, this historical perspective does not seem entirely relevant. Americans may be pleased with the economy and approve generally of the policies of this Administration, but the American family is simply having a difficult time being proud of its government. A shamed Presidency is an embarrassment for the nation, as well as the individual we selected to lead us into the next century.