Today's New York Times had a lead editorial calling on Starr to resign. Starr is accused of no illegality. Rather the Times and others complain that the prosecutor shouldn't be representing private clients while investigating the president. Fair enough. But, as the Times admits, most of the 16 other special prosecutors have done precisely the same thing. What's the difference? Well, Starr is investigating the president.
But wait a minute. For years we've been told there was nothing to Whitewater. If there was nothing to it, then clearly it didn't require that much effort on the part of the prosecutor. Now, suddenly, it's very important. Why? Because Starr is getting close.
In the best of all worlds, Starr would devote full time to Whitewater. Unfortunately there is a long provenance of big-time lawyers mixing government and business. The Clinton's health care task force was a cesspool of conflicts. Clinton's economic summit in Little Rock shortly after his election was hallmarked by scores of corporate jets parked at local landing fields. Most of the cabinet members have deep corporation connections that papers like the Times studiously avoid telling their readers about.