LETTERS: IS OUR NIGHTMARE REALLY OVER?

To the editor:

"Our long national nightmare is over." These words were originally spoken when Iran released our hostages in Tehran, Iran, after they had been kept as prisoners for 444 days. There was a great celebration when they came home.

In a sense, we have just concluded another long national nightmare, which resulted in President Bill Clinton's impeachment and acquittal. But is our long national nightmare really over? The president has two more years to serve, and other scandals could surface not only involving moral turpitude, but also our national security.

How so? Our president has a long history of womanizing, which he defines as just "an improper relationship." The Bible calls it adultery. But call it what you will, the man is morally challenged and quite vulnerable to sexual temptation. Suppose a foreign government wanted to manipulate the Clinton administration into a compromising position on some issue involving our national security or in order to obtain a political favor.

Since the Clinton administration is the most corrupt of any in American history, wouldn't it be possible to imagine a scenario whereby a foreign government could employ an attractive female spy to obtain classified information from Clinton, thus compromising our national security?

Since we have so many enemies around the world, we must have leadership that can be trusted. If this handsome, popular president cannot be convicted of high crimes and misdemeanors, how could we ever hope to convict him of treason even if the evidence was just as convincing?

GERALD W. BEAM

Dexter