Presidential shadows

Every president in recent memory has been dogged from the beginning by a controversial issue. With Bill Clinton, it was the Whitewater Land Deal, which never got much traction, but it did put Special Prosecutor Ken Starr in place, so he was all ready when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke.

With George W. Bush, it was the claim he stole the election from Al Gore in Florida. Again, not much traction because the courts ruled in Bush’s favor. (It helped having Republicans in control of the Florida and U.S. Supreme Courts.)

Of course, with Barack Obama, it was the birther issue. Some claimed he wasn’t born in the U.S. and therefore wasn’t eligible to be president, and Donald Trump gained national attention by pushing the issue. Even after Obama’s birth certificate was produced by his home state of Hawaii, the controversy continued.

And now Donald Trump is accused of collusion with the Russians to win the election. So again we have a Special Prosecutor, and he is investigating several people connected with Trump’s campaign. The investigation will probably drag on for months, maybe even years, as with Ken Starr.

It seems those who oppose a new president try to cast a shadow over him in hopes of diminishing his ability to get things done. It’s become standard practice, and it works by distracting from the President’s agenda and credibility.

Gary L. Gaines, Cape Girardeau