Probe must be thorough

The expedient thing to do would be to have some kind of a go-through-the-motions inquiry and do what polls say the American people want - get the impeachment inquiry over as quickly as possible. Give the president a slap on the wrist and be done with it.

It would be expedient and wrong.The House Judiciary Committee needs to do its duty - regardless of how unpopular it is - by throughly investigating allegations that Bill Clinton is guilty of perjury and obstruction of justice. Sometimes, even in today's cynical world, political considerations must take a back seat.

The Republican Party will have to lead the way because Democrats on the committee and in the House are trying to sidetrack the probe.

Committee Chairman Henry Hyde is to be commended for taking charge and refusing to indulge in political gamesmanship with those who would tarnish the process. Hyde and his fellow Republicans have nothing to gain po-lit-i-cally by going against popular sent-i-ment. To their credit, they're proceeding along their unpopular course because it's the right thing to do as mandated by the Con-sti-tu-tion.

Their path is not an easy one and is being challenged at every turn. Typical of this was the squabble regarding how much time Clinton's attorneys were allotted to question Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr. As has been their modus operandi from the beginning, Clinton's backers have tried to put Starr on trial and portray the president as a victim. That proved to be the case Thursday during Starr's testimony.

Adding to the distractions is the recent release of the Linda Tripp/Monica Lewinsky tapes. They are as disturbing as they are insightful. But remember, they wouldn't be in existence in the first place if not for Clinton, who took advantage of an infatuated 21-year-old intern.

The circus-like atmosphere has blurred the magnitude of what's taking place. The central issue is whether the president lied under oath and whether he tried to obstruct justice in order to hide his actions. These are serious charges. The justice system requires that all people who take an oath to tell the truth in a courtroom do so. No subject, no matter how trivial, is exempt from that requirement. No person, no matter how powerful, may be excused.

To allow these charges to be swept away without a thorough investigation would go against the principles set forth by our founding fathers.

Clearly there is no need for prolonging this agonizing yet necessary exercise. But just as clearly, it must not be brushed aside because the polls and Democrats want it to go away.