Want a good laugh? Go back and check out the very first action of the

Clinton administration Jan. 20, 1993 -- the very first executive order.

Just hours after being sworn into office, Clinton issued an order on

ethical commitments by executive branch appointees. It required every

senior appointee in his administration since to sign a contract

pledging, among other things, the following:

That they will refrain from lobbying during the five years after they

leave government any agency where they have served or which they have

had any responsibility for as a member of the White House staff;

That they will refrain from engaging in any activity on behalf of any

foreign government for five years after they leave government service;

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Refrain from representing any foreign government or foreign

corporation in any way within five years of being involved in a trade

negotiation on behalf of the U.S. government;

Quite a high standard the president set back then, wasn't it? Can't

argue with those rules. But, of course, as usual with President Clinton,

there's a loophole written into the order that is so big you could drive

a Chinese aircraft carrier through it. What about those working on

behalf of foreign governments while they are employed in the executive

branch?

Was this an oversight or an intentional omission? The question must

be asked, because the most serious ethical, moral and political offense

of the Clinton administration has been the selling out of American

security interests for commercial and political gain. Boiled down to its

essence, this is the heart of the high-crimes-and-misdemeanors case

against Bill Clinton and his entourage. If he was a paid agent of

Beijing, and I'm not certain he isn't, he could not have helped position

the Chinese dictatorship and its military and political establishment

any better, any more expertly, any more effectively.

Forget Monica Lewinsky, though, as a security-cleared Defense

Department appointee, she figures into the equation as well. Forget

Kathleen Willey. Forget Travelgate. Forget Filegate. Forget the lies and

cover-ups involved in Whitewater. Even the abuses of power obvious in

all of these scandals take a backseat to the serious questions of

loyalty arising from Clinton's pro-China activities after his campaigns

accepted millions in tainted cash from foreign sources and millions more

from corporations tied to China in business deals and partnerships.

Bill Clinton pledged to preside over the most ethical administration

in the history of the country. That immodest boast should have been a

tip-off of the larceny and treason to come. Who was Clinton to judge his

predecessors of the previous 200+ years? Who was he to even compare

himself with men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham

Lincoln -- especially with regard to ethics?

"We just have to be dominated by high standards and clear vision and

we ought to have a good time doing it," the president told the staff on

his first day in office. At least he's kept one promise -- about having

a good time. "The ethics rules that we have put forward will guarantee

that the members of this administration will be looking out for the

American people and not for themselves." Guarantee? Can I get my money

back?

I guess, maybe, I should look on the bright side. In the year 2001,

by the authority of his own executive order, Clinton's coddling of

foreign tyrants will have to stop -- assuming, of course, he leaves

office as scheduled.

However, with Bill Clinton, it's never safe to make even the most

reasonable assumptions.