This article appeared in Reason on April 1999. So spake Attorney General Janet Reno on May 14, 1993. It appears that the Clinton administration and other supporters of the independent counsel law have jogged a few miles down the Damascus Road. Yes, it's possible that a flash of lightning and a few words from the Almighty changed their minds. But a conversion experience this eye-opening has not been seen since Sports Illustrated' s swimsuit issue hit the library at Holy Innocents High.
Some outside person is absolutely essential.
Despite such firm commitment, Levin has flipped. We've heard that before. The losing plaintiff in that case, Theodore Olson, was an assistant attorney general hounded by a special prosecutor because of some memos he had written to Reagan administration officials regarding how they should respond to congressional requests for Superfund information. We understand the back and forth of politics, but what is also on display in this tidy episode is the short-circuiting of the policy feedback loop. Heroes enjoy perks which pinheads do not.