European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday january 28,1993 commentary the stars and stripes Page 15 was victimized by Anthony Lewis look at the Zoe Baird nomination Story and imagine that the genders had been reversed the nominee for attorney general was a Man Aetna a general counsel earning $500,000 a year. His wife was a Yale Law professor inc made the child care arrangements hiring illegal aliens after discussing it with immigration lawyers. Would the nominee have been swamped by a storm of Public indignation i am not sure but i doubt it. 1 think Many who protested in Baird s Case would have said to themselves that child care was the woman a concern. I think a male nominee with All the other facts the same might Well have been confirmed As attorney general. To say that even to consider re the possibility is to understand that something More was going on Here than a healthy upwelling of popular outrage at the idea of appointing an attorney general who had violated the Law. The something was that Zoe Baird was a woman and a very successful one. Part of the Public feeling was class resentment of Baird a $500,000 salary resentment among women As Well As men. Would anyone Nave complained or noticed if a male lawyer earning that kind of Money had been the nominee not bloody Likely. Think about the moment in the hearings when sen. Joseph Biden chairman of the judiciary committee asked Baird to state How Many hours she was away from her child when she left at Home in the morning and returned at night. Would he have asked that of any male nominee for any Job or consider sen. Dianne Feinstein a hectoring of Baird about not resting on her laurels As a Magna cum lauds Grad uate but knowing the streets. Would sen. Feinstein have said that to Edward Levi a reserved intellectual who was the one outstanding attorney general in the. Last 20 years apart from the gender Clement there were heavy ironies in the Baird episode. If we Are going to demand absolute purity in the attorney general from now on that is a Fine thing. But it was Odd that in coming Down so hard on Baird critics failed to mention the Lawless attorneys general of recent years who politicized a once great department of Justice. A sense of proportion was lacking too in discussion of the wrong that Baird admitted. Millions of americans have used illegal aliens for child care. The immigration service has hardly tried to enforce the employment bar in households. For the press to speak of a grave mistake was grotesque hyperbole. Then there was the complaint that Baird was not sufficiently committed to this cause and that. Women a and civil rights groups failed to Back her. Ralph Nader uttered whining pities. What All that added up to was that Zoe Baird was a moderate a lawyer who was not wrapped in ideology. And that is exactly the kind of person it lawyer like Edward Levi that the Justice department desperately needs. I know Zoe Baird and 1 think i understand Why Bill Clinton chose her a 40-Ycar-old woman not much known in political circles. She is a wonderfully talented lawyer with the Backbone to do the toughest jobs. When she was 27, a Justice department lawyer she resisted plans of the Carter White House to use the census Bureau for political appointees and Schwon. The final irony is that Zoe Baird underwent Public humiliation because of the political mistakes of others. She did not Campaign to be attorney general. She was under consideration Kir the Job of White House counsel when president elect Clinton annoyed at women a groups and candidates they were pushing Sud a a a a % a Ltd Fyrk a it a forever 83uowlngdenly picked her for attorney general. Baird told the transition team about her family a use of illegal aliens for child care. They were the political experts and they said it Yould not be a problem. They were wrong. And for their misjudgment she suffered. The proposition that someone who has violated the Law should not be attorney general once pressed could not be resisted. In the end there was no alternative to Baird a withdrawal. But i Hope that in time people will come to understand the injustice done to a woman of outstanding character and ability a and recognize the unacknowledged feelings in this episode. C the now York time picking Chelsea s school clashed with principle until now there had been no designated Chelsea Clinton beat. Just a smattering of occasional items on her life and times. This can be attributed to an unusual conspiracy of decency on the part of the Media and some atavistic memories of what it was like to be 12 years old. If there is anybody out there who looks Back on his or her eighth Grade photo with fondness please raise your hand. You May leave the room. So when Chelsea recently landed on Page 1 of virtually every newspaper in the country it was a warning shot across the brow of the presidents child. Dear Chelsea from now on you Arentt a kid you Are a Symbol. Every move you make every breath you take Well be watching you. Everything you do will reflect on your parents Welcome to Washington and have a swell adolescence. _ the Issue was Chelsea a school Sidwell friends the politician who presented himself As a Strong supporter of Public schools was a father sending his own daughter to private school. Hypocrisy Alert waffling alarm the Clinton said simply a was parents we believe this decision is Best for our daughter at this time in her life based on our changing the Washington Post was understanding. The new York times was disapproving and Usa today asked its readers to chime in by letter toll free Telephone or fax machine. The disappointment of the Public school parents teachers and principals was palpable. In Washington the schools have been suffering from a sinking sensation. They have been labelled unstable and mismanaged the test scores Are Way below the National Norm and the dropout rate is w a above. There were Many who wanted the Clinton a daughter enrolled As a vote of Confidence a pledge to the future upper. _ Pul your kids where your Mouth is 1 have been in the room any number of times when decisions were made Between someone a political beliefs and their parental what a responsibilities instincts protectiveness id been there when a colleague deeply committed to the inner City and also to his 10-year old decided that two muggings were enough. He took the kid and ran to the suburbs. In be been there when a Strong advocate of child car centers finally Abas Hedly hired a Nanny for her own baby. The turnover was too great the attention too scattered. I have heard parents who Are morally committed to a Standard of fairness and. Equity admit they bought their Way out of Community problems. A crying child came smack up against a principle. At other times and in other Homes 1 have watched parents put their children on the line for what they believe in. But they weren to always sure that was right either. Push comes to shove at school age presidents and other parents want to make the Public schools in their City a place they want to Send their kids. But How to balance what a Best for the Long run with one childhood a Short run the guru of children a issues Marian Wright Edel Man picked private school for her did Jesse Jackson. Tens of thousands in the capital and other cities moved to suburbs Quot for the others pay for parochial school and not always for the prayers. Nimby a not in my Back Yard not my kids. People May not talk publicly about their unease for the same reason that president Clinton a who Over explains everything a did no to explain the reason for picking Sidwell friends. The ethical Coni licks of people with Ellen Goodman options Are a limousine luxury compared to the problems of people with the same options. This disparity is at the heart of the debate about school Choice proposals. I done to regard Chelsea Clinton a school As president Clinton s hypocrisy. She is not a publicly owned child even if she lives in subsidized housing. Her Job is not to set educational policy. Its to get educated. But her father came up against the personal conflict that Only happens in a country with a Public school system torn by what Jonathan Kozol Calls a Savage this is one Parent who can to drop out of the Public argument when he opts out of the Public school. There s More at stake than symbolism. C Tho Boston Globe the opinion prot id in the column and c/1oon on thl Page or a in to not Otth author and a in no Way to by Cona Darm m up of mating the View of the Star and strip or the Una Ted stat gov my no
