Ken Starr

Folks distressed that the U.S. failed to bomb Iraq should lighten up. Saddam can be counted on to provide more opportunities.The way Ken Starr keeps re-indicting Web Hubbell, he probably has something against fat guys.Two centuries ago, England hanged pickpockets. This did not deter pickpockets. Zippered pockets did.Monica was better in silence.Pub Date: 11/18/98

FOR ALL their flag-waving and apple-pie eating, there is something so very un-American about the conservatives running today's Republican Party. Not many people have come out and said this, but the impression grows that they aren't playing in the same ball park as everyone else.This is not the party that brought us George Bush, Bob Dole or even Ronald Reagan. They were all identifiable products of the America we know. They were one of us.Dick Armey, Ken Starr, Tom Delay, Bob Barr. Where the heck did they come from?

Beware of 'Ego Alley'STROLLING CITY Dock in Annapolis many times, as boaters maneuvering into "Ego Alley" were closely scrutinized by locals and tourists at the water's edge, I wondered how it felt to be in that possibly enviable position. We finally bought our first boat, a sleek 19-foot outboard.Several weeks later, there we were skimming the waves of the Severn River heading for dockside -- and Ego Alley. I adjusted my hat, removed my sunglasses, put on my best smile and waited.Just then, a yellow jacket sailed by and landed on my lip. I was stung!

Abbe Lowell, minority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, asked Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr why his referral to Congress was "substantially different" from the one submitted by Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski in the Watergate impeachment case of Richard Nixon. It is commonly agreed that the Jaworski referral was a model of decorum and facts presentation. And it is widely agreed that the Starr referral was slanted, one-sided, accusatory, filled with innuendo and unnecessary salacious details.

WASHINGTON -- A senior White House aide testified before a grand jury for nearly two hours yesterday about his contacts with reporters as Whitewater independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr returned to his search for sources of unflattering information about his prosecutors.The line of inquiry prompted renewed criticism of Starr's tactics, including a call by 14 Democratic members of Congress for Attorney General Janet Reno to restrain Starr from what they called "a campaign of intimidation.""I never imagined that in America I would be hauled before a federal grand jury to answer questions about my conversations with members of the media," White House communications aide Sidney Blumenthal said on the steps of the federal courthouse.

To understand the drive and perseverance of Kenneth Starr, you have to examine his Texas roots, friends say.A glimpse of Starr's formative years presents a picture that meshes little with the White House's portrayal of him as a relentless, if not brutal, and politically motivated inquisitor.The son of a minister, Starr was born in Vernon, Texas, but attended school in San Antonio after his family moved to a small house on the outskirts of the South Texas city. His classmates and teachers recall him as a squeaky-clean, mild-mannered, straight-A student.

If Election Day 1998 taught us anything, it's that a killer nickname can be a race breaker.Take Jesse Ventura, Reform Party candidate for governor in the sensible state of Minnesota. No one figured he had a chance to win. But Ventura donned a nickname from his pro wrestling days and slam-bam, thank you voters, Jesse "The Body" Ventura is now governor-elect of Minnesota.In Maryland, however, Parris Glendening defied political nickname wisdom by winning a second term as governor. Glendening's nickname, "Pifflesniff," did not even become an issue in the heated contest with rival Ellen "Winkie" Sauerbrey, who at least shed her '94 nickname, "Sourgrapes."

WASHINGTON -- When he was appointed independent counsel more than four years ago, even a number of Democrats had to concede that the Kenneth W. Starr they knew, although fervently Republican, was "fair-minded," "judicious," "a man of tremendous integrity."All in all, said one self-described pro-Bill Clinton liberal Democrat who knew him, "a good man."Today, as he faces the House Judiciary Committee as the key witness in the impeachment hearings against the president, Starr's reputation has undergone a remarkable transformation.

FOR ALL their flag-waving and apple-pie eating, there is something so very un-American about the conservatives running today's Republican Party. Not many people have come out and said this, but the impression grows that they aren't playing in the same ball park as everyone else.This is not the party that brought us George Bush, Bob Dole or even Ronald Reagan. They were all identifiable products of the America we know. They were one of us.Dick Armey, Ken Starr, Tom Delay, Bob Barr. Where the heck did they come from?

Abbe Lowell, minority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, asked Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr why his referral to Congress was "substantially different" from the one submitted by Special Prosecutor Leon Jaworski in the Watergate impeachment case of Richard Nixon. It is commonly agreed that the Jaworski referral was a model of decorum and facts presentation. And it is widely agreed that the Starr referral was slanted, one-sided, accusatory, filled with innuendo and unnecessary salacious details.

WASHINGTON -- When he was appointed independent counsel more than four years ago, even a number of Democrats had to concede that the Kenneth W. Starr they knew, although fervently Republican, was "fair-minded," "judicious," "a man of tremendous integrity."All in all, said one self-described pro-Bill Clinton liberal Democrat who knew him, "a good man."Today, as he faces the House Judiciary Committee as the key witness in the impeachment hearings against the president, Starr's reputation has undergone a remarkable transformation.

Folks distressed that the U.S. failed to bomb Iraq should lighten up. Saddam can be counted on to provide more opportunities.The way Ken Starr keeps re-indicting Web Hubbell, he probably has something against fat guys.Two centuries ago, England hanged pickpockets. This did not deter pickpockets. Zippered pockets did.Monica was better in silence.Pub Date: 11/18/98

If Election Day 1998 taught us anything, it's that a killer nickname can be a race breaker.Take Jesse Ventura, Reform Party candidate for governor in the sensible state of Minnesota. No one figured he had a chance to win. But Ventura donned a nickname from his pro wrestling days and slam-bam, thank you voters, Jesse "The Body" Ventura is now governor-elect of Minnesota.In Maryland, however, Parris Glendening defied political nickname wisdom by winning a second term as governor. Glendening's nickname, "Pifflesniff," did not even become an issue in the heated contest with rival Ellen "Winkie" Sauerbrey, who at least shed her '94 nickname, "Sourgrapes."

The People's Panel convened again the other night to talk about the latest developments in L'Affaire Monica, including the party-line vote by the House Judiciary Committee to recommend an impeachment inquiry, which the full House approved yesterday.Some panel members want President Clinton to leave office. Some want him to stay. Some want him to stay and be punished. Some want him to get therapy. One wants him to get therapy and not tell us about it. We all want the president to come to Baltimore, have a coffee and cookie with us, and talk.

To understand the drive and perseverance of Kenneth Starr, you have to examine his Texas roots, friends say.A glimpse of Starr's formative years presents a picture that meshes little with the White House's portrayal of him as a relentless, if not brutal, and politically motivated inquisitor.The son of a minister, Starr was born in Vernon, Texas, but attended school in San Antonio after his family moved to a small house on the outskirts of the South Texas city. His classmates and teachers recall him as a squeaky-clean, mild-mannered, straight-A student.

BOSTON -- So it comes down to Bill and Hillary, man and wife, president and first lady, father and mother.Since January, when the name Monica Lewinsky came out of nowhere, Americans have repeatedly said, "If it's just sex, it's their problem." Now it is their problem. Her problem.All through this tawdry affair, there was one jury to whom the president couldn't bear to tell the truth. Not the 23-member grand jury, but the two-member mini-jury of wife and child. Now the president, husband and father says, "I intend to reclaim my family life."

WASHINGTON -- It is very unusual for someone to be prosecuted for the tax violations that President Clinton's old friend and former appointee, Webster Hubbell, was accused of Thursday.But it is not remotely unusual for a prosecutor to use any lever he can get his hands on to tighten the vise around a potential witness he thinks can advance an important case.In that sense, suggested tax lawyers and former prosecutors interviewed yesterday, the prosecution of Hubbell on tax charges is merely a means to an end -- which is itself a means to a further end.Kenneth Starr, the Whitewater prosecutor, appears to be trying to put pressure on Hubbell in hopes of extracting information that could be used to build a case against Clinton or Hillary Rodham Clinton, the central quarries in the four-year inquiry into the Whitewater land deal and related matters.

WHEN it's all over, when independent counsel Kenneth Starr has shuttered the windows and turned off the last lights of his vast prosecutorial empire, I will bow in gratitude -- we all should give thanks. I won't be relieved simply because this expensive and extraordinary experience is finally done with, whether or not he gets his man. Personally speaking, Ken Starr hit me with a two-by-four and helped make up my mind on two issues I've been in turmoil about for some time.Thanks to the independent counsel, I am now against the grand jury system and the Independent Counsel Act whose enactment I supported two decades ago. The former would require a constitutional amendment to do away with, being a carry-over from 12th century England and now woven into our sense of justice as deeply as trial by jury.

Beware of 'Ego Alley'STROLLING CITY Dock in Annapolis many times, as boaters maneuvering into "Ego Alley" were closely scrutinized by locals and tourists at the water's edge, I wondered how it felt to be in that possibly enviable position. We finally bought our first boat, a sleek 19-foot outboard.Several weeks later, there we were skimming the waves of the Severn River heading for dockside -- and Ego Alley. I adjusted my hat, removed my sunglasses, put on my best smile and waited.Just then, a yellow jacket sailed by and landed on my lip. I was stung!

WHEN it's all over, when independent counsel Kenneth Starr has shuttered the windows and turned off the last lights of his vast prosecutorial empire, I will bow in gratitude -- we all should give thanks. I won't be relieved simply because this expensive and extraordinary experience is finally done with, whether or not he gets his man. Personally speaking, Ken Starr hit me with a two-by-four and helped make up my mind on two issues I've been in turmoil about for some time.Thanks to the independent counsel, I am now against the grand jury system and the Independent Counsel Act whose enactment I supported two decades ago. The former would require a constitutional amendment to do away with, being a carry-over from 12th century England and now woven into our sense of justice as deeply as trial by jury.