Congress ponders fit punishment

WASHINGTON - After spending the weekend mulling over a report on President Clinton's misconduct - and getting an earful from their constituents about it - members of Congress yesterday began a difficult process of finding the most appropriate punishment for the offenses described in painfully explicit detail by Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr.

Although a pitched battle is brewing over what should be done, a consensus seems to be growing that the most extreme options - doing nothing or driving Clinton from office by impeaching him - are not the most likely outcomes of the investigation of his sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

Many Democrats have acknowledged that Clinton's behavior calls for some kind of rebuke. But there are doubts - even among some Republicans - that the evidence gathered so far would justify impeachment.

"I don't find it clear-cut," said Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) a leading conservative critic of Clinton. "It's really a high standard as to whether you go for impeachment."

The search for the right middle ground - censure, censure with special conditions or impeachment by the House without conviction in the Senate - will dominate the coming weeks, overshadowing both parties' legislative agendas, this fall's congressional elections and many kitchen-table discussions. The White House, while insisting it wants a clean bill of health in the House, is already moving to steer the process to the less punitive options.

"There's going to be some middle option the Congress is clearly going to be considering," said one White House official. "It's not going to be all or nothing."

The search will be colored by the two parties' different interests in timing. Democrats are eager to get this matter behind them.

"We should not rule out any action to meet public demand for a prompt, appropriate conclusion in the public interest," said Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) who has suggested a lame-duck congressional session after the fall election.

But Republicans seem in no hurry to wrap up the matter.

"We're heading to a slow, deliberate process," said an aide to House GOP leaders.

After receiving Starr's report on Friday, many lawmakers returned to their districts and received their first direct soundings on it from the public.

Rep. Marge Roukema (R-N.J.) heard from many constituents at town fairs and picnics. Those who spoke to her "were uniformly shocked and appalled at what was going on," she said.

One congressional office reported receiving 700 e-mail messages from constituents on the Starr report over the weekend.

But Democrats were heartened by positive poll results showing that Clinton's job approval ratings had not plummeted in the wake of the report's release.

Clinton spent yesterday in New York City following a carefully scripted schedule of activities that presented the president only in settings unlikely to produce scandal-related questions: delivering a "major" speech on the global economy, presenting the Presidential Medal of Freedom, raising money for the Democratic Party.

But the forces buffeting his presidency were still in evidence. At one stop, he was greeted by a large sign that said: "Save the presidency. Jail Kenneth Porno Starr." Elsewhere, two people displayed a one-word sign, "Resign." At a Democratic fund-raising function, neither House Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) nor the Senate's Daschle approached him in greeting or looked at him during their talks.

Back on Capitol Hill, battle lines were forming on the House Judiciary Committee. While Republicans signaled the need for an impeachment inquiry, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) ranking minority member, openly questioned whether there is enough evidence to take that step.

But with opinion polls indicating the public does not want Clinton to be impeached, lawmakers' early discussions have turned to more moderate forms of punishment.

Polls also show that the public wants the issue to be resolved quickly, fueling some talk that Democrats might step up pressure on Clinton to resign. But that option seemed far less likely after the weekend polls showed Clinton's job-approval rating holding relatively steady.

09-15-98