Clinton’s Coattails Going Out of Style for Democrats

The president’s sex scandal is not important, you say? Maybe it’s not to the average citizen--or so many of them think--but it definitely is to a lot of politicians, because they believe it potentially could affect this year’s elections. The best evidence of that comes from listening to the Democrats’ muted, mumbling defense of their president.

Anything that affects elections is important to the American people, whether or not they want to believe this--and regardless of any feigned lack of interest in a president’s sex life.

And because the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky story still has many pages to turn, as does the Paula Jones episode, the Democratic candidates who must face the voters in competitive races this year sense peril.

Right now, the voters’ socially acceptable line seems to be that a president’s sex life is his own business. But experienced pols know instinctively that this attitude can change quickly if there are new, dramatic revelations, especially about an attempted cover-up.

Already, the scandal has affected the California gubernatorial race by making it more difficult for Leon Panetta to decide whether to run. Lewinsky was Panetta’s intern when he was the president’s chief of staff. And although Panetta is highly regarded in Washington and in his old Carmel-based congressional district as a straight arrow, most Californians know little about him. Having to repeatedly explain his White House tenure could drown out a campaign message.

Panetta and other Democratic pols were hoping for a quick resolution of this sordid matter. But last week, the White House signaled it could drag on for months. And that’s just fine with Republicans.

“We’re fighting giddiness,” says GOP strategist Ray McNally.

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Democrats running in tight races this year cannot afford to climb out on a limb with Clinton and trumpet his innocence. Listen to this barely audible statement from Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.):

“For the good of the country, I hope these allegations are not true. What is important to know is that there is a process in place to deal with them. We have to let that process work.”

Boxer, in particular, is walking a tightrope. The liberal lawmaker is a longtime crusader against sexual harassment--she marched for Anita Hill and helped drive Republican Bob Packwood out of the Senate--and now has to guard against being seen as a hypocrite.

Along the Central Coast, Democrat Lois Capps is running in a special congressional election and her prepared statement on Clinton hardly sounds like a vote of confidence: “The allegations are extremely serious and potentially damaging to the nation. The truth must be uncovered as quickly as possible.”

Third-term Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Atherton) puts it this way: “The president has heatedly denied the charges and we all pray that is absolutely the case. I do not want to believe for a moment that the president has lied to the nation. Do I have doubts? I don’t have all the facts.”

That comment is perfect, asserts Democratic consultant Richie Ross. “I’m going to copy Anna’s statement and send it to all my candidates.”

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I’ve talked to many Democratic spin doctors in recent days and their views vary. “So they catch him lying! What politician doesn’t lie?” asserts strategist David Townsend. “They’ve got to get him on obstruction of justice and I don’t see that happening.”

Townsend’s advice to any Democratic candidate: “Just say Bill Clinton’s doing a good job as president. The public separates Clinton the president from Clinton the man.”

But consultant Raymond Strother of Washington, who advised Clinton in four gubernatorial races, says the scandal “absolutely” will hurt Democratic congressional candidates. “Elections come down to personalities and values,” Strother says. He’ll advise candidates, “Don’t talk about Clinton.”

Some gurus are worried that Clinton could become so damaged it would cripple his ability to raise money for congressional candidates. “I’d advise them to call more on [Vice President] Al Gore,” says veteran consultant Joe Cerrell.

GOP strategists, meanwhile, say they’ll tell their candidates to just shut up. “When your opponent is holding a loaded cigar,” observes Richard Temple, “you just stand back and watch it go off.”

That loaded cigar could fizzle, current polls show. But it’s still going to stink.

As GOP guru Sal Russo observes: “People tell pollsters it’s not important, but they’ll be asking themselves, ‘When does conduct go beyond human frailty and become unfit for the presidency?’ ”

Character at the top is important--if not always in politics, at least to the nation’s moral fiber.