Impeachment

The Whitewater investigation does not seem like a serious proposition for impeachment, but the role of perjury and obstruction of justice do. Though Bill Clinton repeatedly lied to the media, I do not think that he could be impeached on perjury. First, he was not under oath when he made the statements and the technicality of the wording did mean that his statements were correct . His actions were extremely negative, his relationship with Lewinsky and the perjury charges of the case do not seem worth of impeachment. The second charge of obstruction of justice does make more sense however. The continual manipulation of documents by the Clintons both had a negative impact of public opinion but made it seem like they were conducting shady dealings. However, I believe that the "not guilty" vote was right because there was never concrete evidence to prove that Bill Clinton obstructed justice personally. I believe that the event had a major effect on Americans because it exhibited the partisanship of Congress and the trustworthiness of public figures ranging back to Nixon. Though the case most likely did not change peoples political views, as seen in the 2000 elections, it probably brought more skepticism similar to what was seen with Nixon.