TRIAL IN THE SENATE: Impeachment trial to begin

The impeachment showdown has proved a useful lesson for some Political Science courses. With issues of partisanship and loyalty currently encompassing the nation's capital, the effects of impeachment politics are likely to resonate across the country. And while President Clinton can certainly rest assured that not everyone in Penn's Political Science Department will be glued to C-SPAN for coverage of the historic Senate trial -- which begins today on Capitol Hill -- some of the department's professors have decided to make the impeachment an integral part of their coursework. Most of the department's American Politics professors said Clinton's predicament would serve as an illustration of certain concepts taught in class, but that the focus would be on the legal and constitutional basis for impeachment -- not the president's now-notorious sexual relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Political Science Professor Jack Nagel's Introduction to Political Science course, for example, has a section on the syllabus devoted to political leaders, their characteristics and their moral standards. Although Nagel said that these issues are standard fare for the course, he noted that they are certainly more important given Clinton's present political situation. "We'd touch on [impeachment] one way or another, but this time we'll explicitly relate it to President Clinton," Nagel noted. During his first lecture of the course, Nagel joked with his class that politics today seem "all about sex, lies and audiotapes." And Political Science Professor Anne Norton said her Introduction to American Politics Course will also include a discussion of "impeachment in general," while focusing specifically on Clinton. "The impeachment will also be discussed in relation to the party system and partisanship," she explained. Other professors claimed that while the impeachment itself might deserve some mention, the media has erred in focusing too much on Clinton's sex scandal -- a topic that will be absent from Political Science Professor Will Harris's class on constitution-making. According to Harris, the biggest issue at hand is the nation's "dysfunctional" bipartisan government, not the President's sexual escapades. "I think [the impeachment] will be studied historically for all of its errors and misconceptions," Harris said, referring to the entire scandal as a "media-driven phenomenon" and explaining that he will only make "indirect references" to Clinton's situation. Some other professors said they would not devote time to any aspects of the impeachment proceedings. Political Science professors Avery Goldstein and David Rousseau -- both international politics experts -- said the trial bears little relevance to their respective course agendas. Goldstein, who currently teaches a course on International Security, said that although he "undoubtedly will briefly mention the impact of Clinton's troubles on U.S. foreign policy," he has "no plans to focus closely on the issue." "It is more likely that I will simply interject observations [on the president] as I touch on matters," Goldstein added. And Rousseau, who is teaching International Relations Theory and Practice, said that the current political situation does not directly impact international affairs. "[The impeachment] probably doesn't play a central role in [Saddam] Hussein's decision-making process," Rousseau said, explaining why his class will not spend time on the Clinton scandal. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 19 on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. But regardless of individual differences of opinion concerning the impeachment's relevance, most agreed that December 19 will be an important date to future history students. "It will certainly be a part of history," Rousseau said. "Impeachment hasn't happened very often.? People will be discussing it and analyzing it."