Clearer than truth

摘要

What American can ever forget—much less want to recall—the solemn parade of "managers" from the House of Representatives during President Clinton's impeachment trial as they made their way into the Senate chamber, eyes piously raised to heaven (the TV cameras), callused knuckles lightly grazing the floor. The president had told a lie under oath. The republic was tottering. "America is a go-o-o-d country!" one of them bayed. "Amen!" we all shouted at our TV sets. Commentators assured us, worriedly, that since Truth was all that mattered, a president's lie was a far more heinous crime than serial murder. More to the point, perjury is a uniquely American legal fetish to be invoked when you can't nail your victim on a real charge.