`titanic' Sailed Sea Of Doubts To Triumph

Alfred Lencoski 
January 25, 1998 
Alfred A. Lencoski, 86, Of South Bound Brook, N.j., Died Sunday In The 
Greenbrook Manor Nursing Home.

Tuesday, January 27, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





Our passion for scandal endangers our democracy &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I never forget that I live in a house owned by all the American people
and that I have been given their trust.'' &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Franklin Delano Roosevelt &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 It was clear and cool in Washington on Sunday morningAt the FDR memorial,
kids clambered over, under and around the bronze statues depicting
Depression-era Americans. Tourists snapped photos of each other in front of
the open-air memorial's waterfalls or read Roosevelt's words about peace,
opportunity and freedom, carved into the red, South Dakota granite. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The monument makes no reference to Roosevelt's purported marital
infidelities, a subject the president managed to keep out of the media in his
day. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 A whitewash by today's standards? Perhaps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On the other side of the grassy mall that cuts through the center of
official Washington, news crews were encamped on the White House lawn, yapping
about the supposed salacious details of the current president's romantic
entanglements. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Media overkill? Perhaps. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Public attitudes about politicians' private lives have undergone a
revolution in the half-century that separates Bill Clinton from Franklin
Roosevelt. While we have gained much in information technology, we have lost
much in dignity and decorum. In our appetite for scandal, we allow our leaders
to use each others' private lives as political weapons. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If President Clinton did engage in a romantic relationship with a
21-year-old intern, that is certainly distasteful and he should have known
better. But it is not illegal. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 If he perjured himself, or urged others to do so, that is indeed
impeachable. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And yet, while it is too early to pass judgment on the president, this
whole tawdry affair should force us to question our attitudes about
politicians' private lives- attitudes that are the butt of jokes in many other
democracies. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 How do we square our culture's schoolboyish preoccupation with sex with our
prudishness about sex involving politicians? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 How can we allow the latest sex scandal to overshadow everything else going
on the world, from the Pope's historic trip to Cuba, to the real threat of
conflict in Iraq to the government crisis that threatens Indonesia, the
world's fourth most populous nation? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 How far can we go before government-by-gossip damages our democracy? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Our leaders owe us obedience to the law and dedication to the public
welfare. They owe marital fidelity only to their s

Our Passion For Scandal Endangers Our Democracy 
``i Never Forget That I Live In A House Owned By All The American People And 
That I Have Been Given Their Trust.'' 
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 
It Was Clear And Cool In Washington On Sunday Morning.

Our Passion For Scandal Endangers Our Democracy ``i Never Forget That I Live In A House Owned By All The American People And That I Have Been Given Their Trust.'' Franklin Delano Roosevelt It Was Clear And Cool In Washington On Sunday Morning.