Reaction to the Day’s Events

“I have become totally disgusted with the process. It takes too long. Government can be efficient just like the private sector. To date it has demonstrated taking way too much time and too much inefficiency. Congress is not doing justice by dragging it out. Let the country get back to work”

--Keith Comrie, City Administrative Officer for the City of Los Angeles

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“Leave him alone! What he’s doing in his personal life is up to him. He’s president, but he’s also an average man like us. As president, he’s done a great job. The economy is up . . . He’s also done a lot for minority groups. I’m one of them.”

--Frank Rojo, dry waller, from Baldwin Park

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“I don’t think he perjured himself. Perjury has to deal with material issues of fact. The charges against him aren’t material.”

--Polina Friedland, first year law student at USC Law School, from Van Nuys

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“The whole trial itself has been dumbed down from the beginning. There’s been so much focus on this man’s sexual problems. Whether or not it’s a crime is another issue.”

--Linda Hoos, first year law student at USC Law School, from Ojai, CA

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“I think the media is not getting at the real issue. The issue is that [Clinton] perjured himself, and do we want a president who has perjured himself, and does that rise to a high crime? The legal issues have been totally obscured. The way the media has handled it and exploited the nastiest details. . . . Cigar jokes are getting old. We’ve Jerry Springered out.”

--Marcela Cuadrado, first year law student at USC Law School, from New York City

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“We must be the joke of the world right now. I’ve talked to people all over the world, and they’re laughing at us. We’re impeaching our president over his sexual conduct. Here we are, America, the strongest country in the world. And our government is being crippled by sexual conduct.”

--Chris Nelson, professional roller hockey player for Team USA, from Westwood

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“I don’t think this is about sex, it’s a question of whether or not he broke the law. That’s what the Constitution says the Senate has to decide and that’s what I hope they do. In some ways this is even good for the country because it reminds of what being a republic really means. Being able to remove a president is what sets us apart from other countries.”

--Brad Solomon, of Moorpark

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“None of this is good for the country, but it’s something [the Senate] has to do.”

--Mel Merrill, of Thousand Oaks.

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“The entire investigation has been handled badly. It’s bad on both sides. I was very disappointed that Clinton lied so blatantly. I’m also angry by the way Ken Starr has handled it. I used to live in Washington, and one of the best things about my Christmas vacation was not to have to be in Washington to listen to this.

I think what (Clinton) has done is inappropriate. But i don’t think it’s a high crime or misdemeanor. Having an affair is not a crime of the state.

--Jane Paulson, writer, of Hancock Park

--Compiled by Caitlin Liu and Coll Metcalfe, Times Staff Writers