Letter From America
A Question of Etiquette in Politics
ON Saturday, January 17, 1998 President Bill Clinton, the most powerful man on earth, sat across the table from his accuser and her attorney, and for six hours answered their questions in a deposition. Paula Jones, the accuser, alleged that Governor Bill Clinton had made advances to her in a hotel room in Arkansas in 1991, when she was a low level state employee. Clinton did not touch or make any physical contact with her, Jones maintained. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court ruled that the "advances" allegation was sufficient for the case to proceed to trial during the Clinton's Presidency, not after it ended, as the President had requested.
At worst, the allegation is of leery looks. Such is the supremacy of the rule of law in the United States that no one is surprised that the President has to defend himself against a very minor allegation in the court of law. No one tried to muzzle, let alone kill Paula Jones for taking the President to court on such a trivial infraction. President Clinton did not try to pull rank over Jones saying, "How dare you take the President of the United States to court on such a flimsy pretext." Instead, he submitted to the due process of law, like any other ordinary citizen. This is what makes this country so humble, yet so mighty.
Good manners, such as Clinton's, are an indication of good breeding and should be a prerequisite in any field of human endeavour, including politics. In a sphere where the exercise of power hold sway, it is not always easy to be civil, our politicians tell us. That is a lame excuse. If the politicians represent the people, and people are civilized, so should the politicians be.
People should also treat politicians with respect. In civilized countries they do. Former British Prime Minister Edward Heath was a life long bachelor. Yet, no one ever made a public joke about his celibacy. In a nation whose Prime Ministers are predominantly Oxford graduates, John Major did not attend college, and would have been the butt of many "ignorant" jokes in many a society. Not in Britain. Things of personal nature, where a person, even a Prime Minister could be hurt, are never discussed in a civilized society. The turbulent world of politics is no exception.
Former United States President Ronald Reagan was not the smartest of Presidents. A second rate Hollywood actor, who actually said that if he was more successful in Hollywood he would never have entered politics, Reagan reveled in reciting famous Hollywood one liners: "Make my day!", "Over my dead body!" In public however, no intellectual would ever question President Reagan's intellectual capacity.
The Press, too, operates under a set of strict guidelines. As Eleanor Roosevelt was spanning the globe, US President Franklin Roosevelt was consorting with another woman. The woman at President Roosevelt's death bed was not Eleanor! The Press knew about all this, but during those days a politician's personal life was off limit to the Press. President Kennedy too benefited from the Press's self-imposed censorship. During the Presidential campaign of 1960, the Press was fully aware of Senator Kennedy's philandering. Yet, neither they nor the Republican candidate Richard Nixon made an issue of it.
Rules of engagement change in the Press, as in the politics. Democratic Presidential candidate Senator Gary Hart was a victim of the changed rules in 1988. He dared the Press to explore his extra-marital affairs. They did - complete with the photograph of a woman sitting on his lap atop a yacht appropriately named, "Monkey Business"- destroying his Presidential aspirations in the process. The Press was operating under a different set of rules. These days they are relentless in the pursuit of scandals. And the politicians know about it. Just ask Bill Clinton. However, the Press has not abandoned civility.
It seems unseemly for someone to say all the good things about himself or herself, even if it is true. In his hey days, heavyweight boxing legend Muhammad Ali used to say, "I am the Greatest!" Although it was a ploy to attract attention and sell tickets, the problem with that statement was that in Muhammad Ali's case, it was true! He was the Greatest. Therefore, that annunciation offended some people. Fortunately, after Ali embraced Islam, he abandoned the bravado and called "Allah, the Greatest." Once, during a speech recounting India's independence, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi heaped profuse praise on Mahatma Gandhi and just about everyone else. One person conspicuously missing from receiving her accolade was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru - her father, and after Mahatma Gandhi, India's greatest statesman. That deliberate omission did not reduce the stature of Jawaharlal and Indira in the eyes of the Indian public, it only enhanced it!
One of the concerns that Bangladeshis had about our two leading ladies becoming Prime Ministers was the vengeance factor. After all, one had lost her husband, and the other her entire family to the assassins' bullets. People worried about what kind of retribution they might exact on assuming the ultimate power. What they might do in the name of their husband and father. Fortunately, the fears were unfounded. Khaleda Zia, as a matter of fact, did very little to enhance the name of her husband, during her tenure as Prime Minister. One wishes one could say the same about Sheikh Hasina, whose father, as the founding father of Bangladesh, needs no promoting.
It is a question of etiquette.
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