_______________PORTRAIT OF A POLITICAL PIT BULL BY RUSS BAKER (12/22/98)

The story that you have provided regarding Dan Burton is a welcome sight for some of us in Indiana. Despite the article's claim that he is still "Danny" to the home-state people, I beg to differ. Many of the more liberal citizens of Indiana (and there are some of us) can hardly stand the sight of Burton or his moral majority. I vote for a losing cause every Election Day because Indiana is so Republican (except in the case of Sen. Evan Bayh, a hometown son). I personally feel that most Americans, myself included, would like to see the impeachment process ended as it is unconstitutional, and I would prefer to do away with the false morality running rampant in today's politics. -- J.D. Greenwood, Ind. I have to wonder, would this story have been run if it had been about some other representative? Would a dirty Democrat get the same treatment? While Dan Burton certainly seems to be a scoundrel, and worthy of being "outed," the whole issue still smells like nothing more than retribution for his railings against President Clinton. I'm all for exposing crooked politicians whatever their party affiliation, but I'd hate to believe that you're allowing your editorial agenda to be set by some White House goon squad. -- Larry Farmer While I do believe that many of the allegations leveled against Rep. Dan Burton in Russ Baker's article are probably true, I find it hard to believe that the same shenanigans are not going on in the 434 other offices in the House, and 100 offices in the Senate. I find it amusing that Democrat's openly condemn the "politics of personal destruction" while they have never had any problem using "personal destruction" and embarrassment to suit their own political ends. I'm "sure" Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas believe that the president's and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt's comments are really sincere. I hope that Salon Magazine and Russ Baker continue to work hard to expose corruption and hypocrisy. However, I'm interested in seeing if they will be as motivated to expose any hypocrisy or corruption coming from the left. -- David B. Sarge Cumming, Ga. How does it feel to be the water boy of an adulterer, a liar, a cheater, a sociopath? How does it feel to defend someone who has no idea of honor, of truth, of faithfulness? Yes, people are sinners and all of us are not perfect. The whole issue with Clinton is not sex, but the fact that the president of the United States lied under oath. If this were a Republican president, you would be calling for his resignation, and your moral howls and protests would be echoing throughout cyberspace! The hypocrisy, the arrogance and the sheer contempt that you have for America show me that you are part of a left-wing conspiracy, a conspiracy that wants to change America into a socialist country. Your president, your company, and all that write for you -- with the exception of Camille Paglia -- are liberal-loving lackeys of Lenin/Clinton. (The names are interchangeable as far as I am concerned.) -- Mark Peterson If even part of Russ Baker's story on Dan Burton is true, then the congressman should step down from office. It is time that we rid our government of all such men in power. No longer should such behavior be accepted. My daughter will head to Washington this spring as the conclusion to her elementary school education. As her father, I do not feel that her honor will be safe until all the sexual predators have been forced from our government's halls. Packwood and Livingston are a great start, but now lets get Burton, Ted Kennedy, Barney Frank, Henry Hyde and President Clinton out of office so that our capital will once again be safe for our children. -- Lane Willson Knoxville, Tenn. Dan Burton did not lie before a grand jury; he did not lie in a deposition for a civil suit; he did not have "telephone sex" while discussing the fate of our military; he did not have sex in our Oval Office. Clinton is a disgusting, immoral, reckless person and should resign. Your "magazine" is a fitting forum for his support -- disgusting, immoral and reckless. -- Mary Lou Ocheltree Norfolk, Va. Salon's article on Rep. Dan Burton reflects the declining discourse you have had in your otherwise witty, smart and irreverent magazine. Your attempts to justify the newsworthiness of this story miss the point and miss the mark. To the contrary, you now project pettiness and blatant advocacy, which does not bode well on how your coverage of other matters will be received. -- Mark Centrales I became a member of Salon Magazine because I felt your magazine has some standards. I even agreed when you published the Henry Hyde story. But the stories on Dan Burton and Bob Packwood are out of line and out of proportion. Why did you let the standard of the magazine fall? This is becoming cheap. Please stop this nonsense on sex scandals. Stick to public issues like the abuses of campaign contributions. -- Krishna Kannan Personally, I hope Salon's Dan Burton story is all true, but I think you do yourself a disservice to publish an article that sounds like 90 percent fiction, fraught with unsubstantiated rumors from unnamed sources. I hope Larry Flynt does a better job of backing up his allegations than you have done. But keep trying, we need voices like yours. We'd just feel more comfortable if you offered better proof instead of sounding like the National Enquirer. -- Nick Sager If Russ Baker's point is that Rep. Dan Burton is no better than President Clinton -- or worse because he attacks other miscreants rather than the innocent -- it is a point poorly made. There is really only one proper conclusion to be drawn, depending on your standards of conduct. If your standard is to punish those in public office who have committed crimes, remove Clinton and keep Burton. If it is to remove "sinners," get rid of both. -- J.M. Geraghty N E X T+P A G E+| Why Oregon feminists supported Sen. Packwood for as long as they could