Whitewater

* What inconvenient timing. In her column “A Diversion That’s Costing Us All” (Commentary, April 5), Deborah Tannen warns us that “the scourge of Whitewater” is taking the Clintons’ time and attention away from the job that “we desperately need them to be doing.” The same day had a report on the First Lady being in Chicago for opening day to throw out the first pitch. And another on the President being in Cleveland to do the same--before heading to Charlotte for the NCAA basketball championship.

BOB DELSOL

Redondo Beach

* Thank you, Deborah Tannen, for your wonderful article. Clinton is doing an excellent job of running our nation. It’s too bad the Republicans won’t spend their time doing what we put them in office to do--work on laws to improve our country economically and socially. Who cares what the Clintons did back in the ‘80s, some things back before he became governor. Is Sen. Alfonse D’Amato (R-N.Y.) so pure?

GRACE DEUTSCH

Corona del Mar