The Tapes.

Four hours of The Tapes.

Four hours of The Tapes interrupted only by partisan analysis and bad movie music.

This was the scene on any news network worth its salt Monday morning, as the notorious “Clinton tapes” were released to the public.

Now we as the American people have seen President Clinton during his deposition by Independent Council Kenneth Starr.

We’ve seen him sullen, we’ve seen him angry.

We’ve seen him embarrassed, we’ve seen him defiant.

But will we ever see an end to this spectacle?

This taped deposition was supposedly crucial to congressional Republicans because “The American people … have to look at the evidence,” according to Rep. Bob Livingston, R-La.

And the testimony was potentially harmful to Democrats, because “The tapes were released solely to embarrass the president and gain political advantage,” according to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.

But did anything meaningful really come out of Clinton’s tapes?

No.

The tapes showed Clinton saying what we already knew he said, in a manner that we’ve already seen.

There was nothing more sexual than we’ve already heard, nothing more defiant than we’ve already watched.

Iowa’s own Sen. Charles Grassley had it right when he said, “Based on the expectations built up by both sides, the broadcast failed to register on the Richter scale.”

The only thing the tapes did prove was how divided the country already is.

We’re left with leaders split almost exactly down party lines on whether Clinton should be impeached — which is exactly what we as a nation don’t want.

Congress has before it the task of determining if Clinton committed impeachable high crimes or poor moral judgment and slick legal maneuverings. These politicians need to remember their Constitutional duties, which preclude party beliefs when it comes to such a serious matter as removing a president.

People have so far described the Clinton/Lewinsky mess as a “political witchhunt.” However, whether the scandal originated in politics is irrelevant; it’s only important that it ends without partisanship.

If it doesn’t, the American people may be seeing more political absurdity than just The Tapes — something we could all do without.