COLUMN: Mrs. Clinton should have learned the rules to living a spotless, honest lifestyle

---

by Packy Saunders

---

SOMETIMES IN our lives we are left wondering who we can trust. Take First Lady Hillary Clinton for instance.

She has some real troubles.

A poll released in USA Today last week suggested that she has one of the most unfavorable images of any first lady since they started recording the survey.

Leno and Let-terman will not lay off. In fact, Letterman frequently peppers his monologues of late with references to Mrs. Clinton and prison.

Columnist William Safire did not hesitate to call the first lady a "congenital liar" two weeks ago. Attacks are to be expected from the media and television com- edians.

However, the big zinger came from a once-friendly aide this week. Carolyn Huber, a presidential assistant and former assistant of Hil's in Arkansas, testified that certain missing documents reappeared in a room that only the president, first lady and limited staff had access to. Ouch!

What ever happened to going down with the ship?

Ask former White House chief of administration David Watkins. He is another Arkansas buddy who speculated before the Senate Whitewater Committee that Hil's hands are dirty from the travel office firings. The human tendency to fail or inform on one's associates is a beautiful catch-22.

Do you choose to reveal information in order to gain trust and risk your social, business, religious and personal freedoms?

Or do you lock it all up in a box and move on coldly? While it might be too late for Hil, there are a couple of options for us lay people to build up trust before we become overexposed:

* Live an impeccable lifestyle. Never lie, cheat, steal, let your mind wander toward impure thoughts or act out of anger.

For almost all of us this is improbable. We've already sinned. But it is not too late to start living a purer life. The Pope does it, and he gets to live in a really big house for his efforts.

* Live an open lifestyle. This is much more manageable. If you have something to tell, tell it without reservation. We end up hyping our own errors and flaws by trying to hide them. Public self-acceptance can help shield you from personal attacks.

Imagine if Hillary were to confess to her role in the controversy. Who said the first lady was beyond reproach anyway?

A confession to Barbara Walters (while holding Socks the cat -- hey, it worked for Nixon) that she might have overstepped the bounds could bring her in touch with the people.

The first lady's new book is titled It Takes a Village, referring to the societal responsibilities of raising our children. She urges the topic of our children's upbringing to become the "national conversation."

It might be time for Mrs. Clinton to look at herself in the mirror and realize that it also takes a village to trust, and also the American Village to forgive. Trust me on this one.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the January 26, 1996 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX, 77005, USA.