Let me get this right, the president cheated on his wife, said he didn’t do it and Congress wants to try to impeach him for it? This is a joke right?

Do we still live in America or have we suddenly been overtaken by some rogue government? No wait, maybe we are in the middle of some really weird dream state and this will all be over soon.

Much has been made about President Clinton and his current legal troubles, but it is hard to believe the extent to which it has been taken.

In school, we learn about the Constitution and the presence of mind many of our forefathers had concerning the separation of church and state. They knew then that the government was not the place for the American people to look when they needed a figurehead of morality and decency. In the early days of the country, the church was the symbol of purity and the Bible was the dictionary of decency. So why have things changed?

Why is it that in 1998, we decide to look inside the White House for our signs of morality and goodness? Have we abandoned the church or are some of us as mixed up as the government right now?

Let’s look at the situation at hand: The President of the United States had an extramarital affair with a twenty-something-year-old white house intern. When asked about it, he said that there had never been any “inappropriate” relationship between the two of them.

It now turns out that was not true and the two did in fact have a sexual relationship. So it seems the president lied when he said there was no relationship. So what?!

This is not a case of whether what the president did was wrong, we all know it is. This is not a case of if the president should be punished or not, if he did perjure himself then he should be punished. And this is definitely not a case that warrants impeachment.

Isn’t impeachment necessary when the president decidedly dedicated himself to a deed that is detrimental to the defense or development of our country?

Let’s face it, the president cheated on his wife, not the country.

Bill Clinton should not be impeached on the basis of his lack of discretion in his private, albeit discretionless sex life. He is a married man, but whom he drops his drawers in front of is between him, his wife and his mistress.

Bill Clinton is a politician, and at the very least the American public should expect a lie, a few misstatements and lots of skeletons in the closet that come out every once in a while. For us to expect too much from any politician, even our own president, would be setting ourselves up for a let down.

Clinton may have committed perjury in his testimony to attorneys during the proceedings surrounding the Paula Jones sexual harassment case. In that testimony, he was asked about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, and he allegedly said he had no “inappropriate” relationship with her. The jury is still out on this one, but if it is true, he should be punished like any other American citizen.

However, his punishment does not need to be impeachment. The man lied about having sex with a woman who was not his wife. He did not sell arms to known terrorists or sell secrets to the enemy and possibly arrange a deal for the release of prisoners. He slept around on his wife and lied about it.

We live in an America that was built on lies, deceit and infidelity. Just ask the Indians, the blacks and the Irish.

The president did nothing that other politicians haven’t done in the 211 years of this country. He lied. We know he is not the first president to have an extra-marital affair, and he won’t be the last.

The overwhelming truth is that most politicians probably lie to their constituents at one time or another, some may not, but there are so many how can we tell who is telling the truth?

Clinton is very guilty, but not of obstructing justice. He is guilty of not picking the right woman to play games with. He is guilty of not being faithful to his wife and he is guilty of lying about it. He is guilty of being a sexual moron, a lustful freak who dreamt of having sex on the great seal in the Oval Office. But above all, he is guilty of succumbing to his own stupidity and sexual indiscretion.

But he did not sell the country out, and he did not forsake his job simply for a piece of ass. That is what he is not guilty of and there is no reason to impeach a man who probably did what every one of the many thousands of husbands, boyfriends and all around playas who cheat have done … he lied about it.

The rest of the world is laughing at us while we waste so much valuable money and time, so many valuable people and resources and risk such public disapproval just because the president has a revolving door on his zipper. In France, this would have lasted a week, two at the most, and the president would have confessed right away.

Maybe if we weren’t the greatest country in the world, we wouldn’t have such crazy ways to waste the time of our governmental body.

Isn’t there an election coming up?

Holla if ya hear me.

I’m out!

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Rhaason Mitchell is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Chicago, Ill.