An embarrassment

The U.S. president is a person who sometimes must ask people in the ranks to die for the country. The president is a person who asks people close around him to serve the government for less money than their talents would bring elsewhere. The president sometimes requires that people out in the country sacrifice their dollars or their convenience for national goals. All he is asked in return is trustworthiness, loyalty and judgment. These concentric circles of the national family simply want the president to have enough character not to abuse their devotion.

President Bill Clinton has failed that simple test abjectly, not only with undignified private behavior in a revered place, but with his cavalier response to public concern. That is why the cursory speech he made before departing on vacation probably did him more harm than good.

-- The New York Times