Special Addendum: Little did I know, or the American public know, what Starr and the Republican Party had in mind for the next two years. Jeez, what politicians will do is mind-boggling and, well, rather pathetic.

The writer would hate to think that he came out on top because of knocking another person. That is rather like cheating on a test which would not provide him much satisfaction or an accurate measure of performance. Apparently, politicians do not think in a like manner.

Those who won Congressional seats probably think they did so because of the public supporting their actions as indicated by votes. However, every example of every campaign focused on and around negative ads showed conclusively that each candidate's opponent was not being truthful. Thus, none could be.

So, were the elected officials' winning based on the truth or partial truth accompanied with misleading statements or falsehoods? That, it would seems, depends on one's definition of 'truth'.

Don't be shocked if your perception of the truth isn't the same as many of our political leaders when based on what they do and how they do it, not what they say they have done or will do.

It will also be a relief to not watch ABC or NBC day after day, week after week, providing support to the Republican party. It got to the point that the writer hated watching the news or any type of news show aired by the networks.

If there was anything political in nature (and there always was), it was certain Republicans would be supported and Democrats semi-trashed. Thank God the degree of biasing will now return to a normal level. (See S. Addendum above)

The writer worked until 7 P.M. election day and, as soon as he turned on ABC for election returns, he had a feeling that Mr. Clinton was winning. It was obvious in the demeanor of Peter Jennings. Disappointment clearly showed on his face and he was quite subdued. Maybe he was just tired.

Then, the commentators, including Jennings, seemed to perk up as the House and Senate were certain to remain under the control of the Republicans. That may be a blessing but, then again, it might result in Congress being locked up again and again, just as it was during the latter part of l995 and l996.(Once again, see the addendum above)

Of course, Congress, at least Republican members, attempted to take credit for Mr. Clinton's returning to the White House by trying to convince the public their party was responsible for all the good things which had occurred.

But, did not the Republican controlled Congress battle Mr. Clinton constantly, with Mr. Clinton having to fight every inch of the way for every positive accomplishment? Seems Republicans forgot that.

It is certain that President Clinton will again have constant battles with Congress. Hopefully, there are enough Republicans who really care about this country and its people to work with the president instead of erroneously trying to prove he isn't the man for the job.

Maybe instead of constant power struggles, a sense of creating well-being for the public will be the prevailing attitude.(Once again, the addendum above)

The writer's feeling is that the first order of action by Congress will be to get Democratic contributions investigated.

One would think that they would also investigate the contributions to the Republican party and relate those contributions during the last four years, maybe further back, to legislation pushed by Republican party members. There is certain to be a correlation.

Perhaps Congressmen do not realize that every investigation, especially one in which it appears to be politically motivated, damages the overall perception the public has of politicians.

Each adds to the distrust much of the public has for anyone or anything associated with the government. If an investigation is absolutely necessary for justice, fine, but, if part of a power struggle, forget it. It does far more damage than good.

It is the writer's thought that the country will be best served by politicians who do their best to determine the wants of the people and guide legislative efforts to that end. Perhaps, this administration will be the first to do so. (Jeez, should have said to see the addendum above after nearly every paragraph - would have saved me effort.)

That would go a long ways towards beginning to create a bit of trust, but only if the truth is the dominant feature of the activity. If misleading, or false, statements are all the public is made aware of, then greater distrust would be the result.

The country would also be best served by media personnel who simply report facts, not suppositions or opinions, but facts which give both sides of a story followed by no personal commentary whatsoever.

Let the people decide for themselves what they think. Maybe the writer is weird but he doesn't like, nor does he want, a newscaster trying to influence his thinking, especially since he does quite well on his own.

Aren't all of you sick and tired of hearing commentators and analysts try to tell you what something means, especially when they are often wrong or simply trying to mislead you with inaccurate, politically-biased analyses of different situations?

Why don't all work towards finding out why voter apathy exists. Less than 50 percent of qualified voters voted. The writer wrote an essay concerning this but did not find a publisher willing to publish his thoughts. Nor, will he find one to publish this but mental exercise is good, anyway.

And, so, Ladies and Gentlemen, the writer sits with fingers above the keyboard, posed to write his reflections of situations, events, and results of the new administration.

And, not to forget the power struggles that are sure to be active but, hopefully, not as full of negative BS as the many different levels of campaigning were.

But, don't hold your breath for the next copy. Looking for and finding a publisher can be a long, drawn out affair.

But, mustn't give up any more than all of us should give up on finding politicians to trust.

As an added note, the writer did find publishers willing to use some of his efforts but, since it wasn't adequate, he decided on this option, that of sort of writing an online book.

By the way, if you like any of what you have read so far, or some of it, or even none of it, send the site address to your friends, family, and other associates and give them the opportunity to read some of it, all of it, or even none of it.

Just highlite the address of the first page, then copy and paste in an email.

Or, highlite this, copy, and send it off to them:

http://www.oocities.org/CapitolHill/Congress/5747/HavingMySay.html

The first way will allow it to work as a link from the email while the second will require they type the address in.

There is one more political article from 1996. I put it next and also in a section devoted just to the basis for the article. Why will become clear later.