New Haven Independent

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Here’s what Lieberman said:

“The President is a role model who, because of his prominence and the moral authority that emanates from his office, sets standards of behavior for the people he serves. His duty, as the Reverand Nathan Baxter of the National Cathedral here in Washington said in a recent sermon, ‘is nothing less than the stewardship of our values.” So no matter how much the President or others may wish to compartmentalize the different spheres of his life, the inescapable truth is that the President’s private conduct can and often does have profound public
consequences.

“In this case, the President apparently had extramarital relations with an employee half his age and did so in the workplace, in the vicinity of the Oval Office. Such behavior is not just inappropriate, it is immoral and it is harmful, for it sends a message of what is acceptable behavior to the larger American family, particularly to our children, which is as influential as the negative message that is communicated by the entertainment culture.

“If you doubt that, just ask America’s parents about the intimate and frequently unseemly sexual questions their young children have been asking them about and discussing since the President’s relationship with Ms. Lewinsky became public 7 months ago. I have had many of those conversations with parents, particularly in Connecticut, and from them I conclude that parents across our country feel much as I do that something very sad and sordid has happened in American life when I cannot watch the news on television with my 10-year-old daughter anymore.

…

“I am afraid that the misconduct the President has admitted may be reinforcing one of the worst messages being delivered by our popular culture, which is that values are fungible. And I am concerned that his misconduct may help to blur some of the most bright lines of right and wrong in our society.”

Source: Congressional Record, Thursday, September 3, 1998, 144 Cong Rec S 9923, Vol. 144, No. 115, THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION OF PRESIDENT CLINTON