This is CBS, I Am the World, I'm John Batchow with Conrad Black, the distinguished biographer

in his story and his book is Flight of the Eagle, which is the story of America through

lots of challenges over nearly 250 years now.

We're focusing on using the law and the impeachment process or the political process that leads

to the impeachment process in order to gain partisan advantage at election time.

The next instance of note, it's not just the Democratic Party in 1972 to 73, 74 that

managed to dislodge a president overwhelmingly elected by the American people in 72, but

in 1998 Bill Clinton had been overwhelmingly reelected by the American people in 96 and

yet a special prosecutor, Ken Star, looking into allegations having to do with Arkansas

and real estate and back scratching in a political fashion, then turned to a young woman who

had had an affair with the president in the White House at the time.

Bill Clinton was then persecuted and pursued by the Republican Party and by Ken Star, the

special counsel.

And Conrad, I don't go, need to go through the whole story other than to say it is my

measure that many, many voices, including yours, regard that as a very bad mistake for

the Republican Party.

They had learned nothing from the persecution of Richard Nixon, even perhaps took it up

as a retaliation in some fashion.

Has the Republican Party learned not to do that again since then in your measure?

I hope so, and I hope that the subsequent impeachment activities has convinced not only the

Republicans, but a good many Democrats as well, that we really have to reestablish a clear

line of distinction between the legitimate operation of the law and politics, even strenuous

...