Impeachment

California State University, Dominguez Hills
University of Wisconsin, Parkside
Latest update: December 28, 1998
Faculty on the Site.

Quote from Censure and Move On:

Ex-Senator Alan Simpson (R): "The attention span of Americans is which movie is coming out next month and whether the quarterly report on their stock will change."

PUBLIC FIGURES CAN PAY A HIGH PRICE FOR CANDOR -- HON. BOB SCHAFFER (Extension of Remarks - December 19, 1998)

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HON. BOB SCHAFFER

in the House of Representatives

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1998

Mr. BOB SCHAFFER of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce for the Record, an article published by Kent Holsinger of my staff. `Public Figures can pay a high price for candor' appeared in the December 10, 1998 Denver Post. Mr. Holsinger's analysis of how public speaking, delivered through the media, affects public sentiment towards government is particularly relevant as we consider tomorrow whether to impeach the President of the United States. I urge my colleagues to keep the following in mind as we deliver our messages to the country.

Public cynicism towards government may stem from the difficulty politicians and public figures have giving forthright answers to difficult questions. Behind the cynicism is a complex, and dynamic saga of American politics and culture. In the midst of this saga, the media serves as a conduit between public figures and the public. As the nature of reporting has changed dramatically with the information age, so too has the nature of public speaking.

History was made by public statements of public figures. Before pollsters, media consultants and ghost writers, great orators like Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun mesmerized their audiences in the halls of Congress, thus securing their roles in the nation's history. People rushed to the Capitol, filled the galleries and watched the great debates in person. Of those, Daniel Webster's speech on the Senate floor for a united country, one liberty and one people, is among the most famous in American history. Webster proclaimed that public speech, while it may be manipulated or sculpted, `[It] must exist in the man, the subject, and in the occasion.'

But are those principles of dialogue maintained in modern times? How public speech is delivered, and reported has changed dramatically over time. Modern reporting is instantaneous and relentless. Papparazzi pursue celebrities with cameras and microphones, while news is beamed continuously to households around the world, around the clock. To cope with modern reporting, media advisors and press secretaries craft skillful, but evasive, replies for their bosses. Throughout the Monica Lewinsky scandal, President Clinton has emerged as a master of evasiveness and media `spin' on the political battlefield. Why don't public figures just speak their minds? They may be taking their lessons from what rash public statements have done to others before them.

On the real battlefield, General George S. Patton, Jr. swept the Third Army through Europe and helped secure an allied victory in World War II. Characterized by his gruff personality and hard demeanor, Patton demanded strength and discipline from his men. Inwardly, he studied philosophy and wrote poetry; but outwardly he was ruthless and offensive. He may have carried his troops more than once by determination alone. Never afraid to speak his mind, Patton once was asked by a preacher whether he ever managed to read from the Bible he kept on his nightstand. `Every--damned day,' Patton replied.

At times hated and loved by his men, Patton commanded loyal troops who performed the impossible during the war. His fierce determination to pursue and conquer the enemy, coupled with his unapologetic prose was at times glorious and disastrous. He was one of the greatest tactitions and generals the United States has ever seen. General Patton led his armored units with speed and daring, his philosophy: `Catch the enemy by the nose and then kick him in the pants.' This philosophy carried the Third Army across more territory and captured more prisoners than any other army in American history.

Patton, as battlefield commander, enjoyed unparalleled success. Patton, as a public figure, suffered greatly. Many times his brash, unapologetic statements, made off the record, ended up as newspaper headlines. His statements about fighting the Russians to free Eastern Europe and using ex-Nazi's during reconstruction were hotly criticized. Those controversial, but matter-lf-fact statements were said quietly, or in private. But they eventually cost one of our guest generals his command of the Third Army.

It is no wonder today's public figures sometimes hesitate to speak their mind. Modern reporting, often geared towards sensationalism, creates that need for evasiveness and spin in public speaking. This dichotomy fuels public cynicism and distrust. But sensationalism sells. So long as it does, public figures will guard their words, and the public long for heroes, like Patton, whom are unafraid to speak their minds.

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