Degradation spreads from the top down. Four years were damaging enough. Another four, if Clinton lasts, will do real harm to the institutions of the U.S. federal government. It is, however, a hotly debated fact that Mr. Clinton is not the top, nor does he decide national policy, no matter how corrupt. Perhaps it is impolite for a London newspaper to say such things about a president of the United States.
Many people think so.
Clinton is not so bad, the argument goes. He is running a pretty good economy. The planes are flying on time. But you could have said the same about Benito Mussolini. A lot of people did, in fact, much to their regret later.