Atty. Gen. Edwin Meese Steps Down

Roberts in his bashing of the system of independent counsels seems to be an excuse for the Republican presidency that brought the system into being.

Where would the country be if the now infamous Administration of Richard Nixon hadn’t been brought to its knees? What would have been said if former President Gerald Ford had not pardoned Nixon? The impact of a President being found guilty and dishonorably forced from office would have left a stigma on our nation that would have been the blackest day in some 200 years of our democracy.

Roberts also feels that the public at large fails to use their prized franchise, that being to cast a vote of their choice. The results of a Congress that favors the Democrats must show something as to the mistrust that American citizens have of a “hands-off” presidency.

Our Founding Fathers established the three branches of government so that one would not prevail to the detriment of the other two.

The fact remains that the allegations of criminal or unethical conduct were the root cause of Meese’s resigning. He alone is responsible for where he finds himself today.

It is easy to cast blame elsewhere when the evidence becomes so overwhelming that even the loyalty that existed between President Reagan and Meese had to bend. The load of miseries he cast upon the Administration, the Republican Party, and the Justice Department became too heavy to bear.

Luckily Meese was presented with a gift horse that allowed him to bow out without further embarrassment. Let’s wait until the independent counsel’s report is made public and watch to see if he was in fact “hounded from office” or wisely took the easy way out.

LOUIS R. KOZBERG

Los Angeles