NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      WASHINGTON, DC (CWNews.com) - Potential Republican presidential candidates in the 2000 election told the Christian Coalition on Saturday that President Bill Clinton legal and political woes are a symptom of America's "lost moral compass."

      Although the four men addressed other political issues, all turned their attention at some point to Clinton. Sen. Bob Smith, R-New Hampshire, said: "We have a character in the White House. We need character in the White House." Sen. John Ashcroft, R-Missouri, for his part called Clinton a remnant of the "self-indulgent '60s."

      Gary Bauer, president of the Family Research Council, compared the damage to American culture to environmental damage caused by an oil spill. "We have watched in the last seven months while our children have been taught that fidelity is old-fashioned, that adultery is the norm," Bauer said. "This has been the equivalent of a cultural oil spill. It's not sea otters and ducks that are washing up on shore covered with gunk, it's our kids."

      Millionaire Steve Forbes made a connection between Clinton's misdeeds and the conduct of the entire administration, including Vice President Al Gore. "The Clinton-Gore administration has ignored or mishandled the great issues of our day and now we're beginning to bear and reap the terrible consequences of what they have done and not done," Forbes said. The 3,000 members of the Christian Coalition at the conference greeted each speaker's comments on the issue with applause, including the unanimous call for resignation or impeachment.