One of the few positives that came out of September 11 was the renewal of American leadership. We saw a strengthened White House, an appreciation for our secretary of defense, and a reappearance of a formidable secretary of state. There was strong leadership from the other sectors. Sen. Clinton proved to be an excellent advocate for New York without exploiting the moment. She suddenly moved beyond the role of a former first lady. Gov. Pataki and Mayor Giuliani led the city through its most trying hour. The only fool of the hour was California's Gov. Davis, who, needing to cover-up his blundering during the energy crisis, attempted to show some vague semblance of executive authority. Instead, he stirred an unneeded panic by declaring that California's bridges were in immediate peril — a statement that was flatly refuted by those who actually knew what was happening. Altogether though, America's political class has shown tremendous leadership and a radical departure from the politics of the 1990s.

This leads to the question of why in the midst of this renaissance of statesmanship there continues a need for some in the media to focus on the sex scandals of the '90s. The latest culprit is David Brock with his new book Blinded by the Right: The Conscience of an Ex-Conservative. In his latest transformation, Brock seems more blinded by the 30 pieces of silver that he received than a need to clear his "conscience."

Brock, for most people outside the Beltway, needs a brief introduction. In the early 1990s, Washington was filled with political assassins, and David Brock was one of the top hired guns. The Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings proved a good breeding ground for journalists like Brock. His major assignment during that time was to take out Anita Hill. What started out as a series of painful days in the Senate Judiciary turned into a decade-long game of tit-for-tat played by the left and the right. The Thomas/Hill episode set the stage for a media world that was consumed with sex and politics.

The '90s were the perfect time to focus on irrelevant issues, like a public figure's sex life, because there was no obvious military threat and the economy was prosperous. We certainly did not have a president who showed us that, underneath the calm waters, there was a world that hated America and the liberty she represented. The result was a media and political class that, in their need for conflict and attention, engaged in a long war of examining people's sex lives in books, television, and the papers. The remedy to the boredom of the '90s was to ratchet up the personal attacks.

What's saddest about this era was that relevant issues were ignored. Consider Brock's contribution to this frenzy. The Anita Hill scandal helped deflect the many legitimate reasons why Clarence Thomas should have been rejected to sit on the Supreme Court. If Anita Hill had not been trotted out, there is a good chance Thomas would have been Borked. Yet with Ms. Hill testifying to the nation against Thomas, what had been a Supreme Court nomination hearing transformed into a sexual harassment case. The question was no longer "Is Thomas experienced?" or "What is his jurisprudence?" but whether he sexually harassed Anita Hill. Writers like Brock made a fortune off the whole sorry episode, and many people bought the argument. The left wore "I believe Anita Hill" buttons, while the right viciously drew and quartered her. The only profiteers were people like Brock. He would often say that his Georgetown residence was the "house that Anita built."

His writings exemplified the putrefaction of political journalism during the 1990s. His infamous line of Anita Hill as being "a little bit nutty and a little bit slutty" encapsulates the lack of intellectual merit on his attacks against Ms. Hill. The character attacks served only to desecrate an already foul process. He, and his ilk, laid the groundwork for what would culminate in the ultimate political sexual drama, the trial of President William Jefferson Clinton.

During the Clinton impeachment ordeal, there was little focus on the legal grounds of why President Clinton should have been removed from office. If the legal arguments had been thoroughly examined, there is good reason to believe that Clinton would have been the first American president thrown out of office. But because of the spin orchestrated by both parties, the trial became a question of Clinton's sex life and not about his perjury or obstruction of justice.

America also lost its ability to focus on the global issues of the day. The Clinton administration failed to adequately respond to attacks against our African embassies and the USS Cole. His administration knew that Bin Laden was a threat but never took the necessary steps to deal with the problem. They never built an international coalition; they failed to send in American troops; they failed to update American security readiness. When Clinton did respond with his $100 million cruise missile attack against Bin Laden's $10 tents, the timing was suspect because it coincided with the Lewinsky scandal. Somehow, we were worried more about interns than the fact that America was being attacked. Our media and leadership failed to forge a direction for America, and as a result America not only failed to respond to those who attacked it but left those who hate us with the impression that we would not respond in the future.

While serving as a reminder of that era, David Brock's latest book also acts as the author's visa application to the left. Forced to flee his conservative homeland, Brock demands a new home by claiming the status of a political martyr who was unjustly used by conservatives. There is no question that he should be asking for forgiveness, but he is seeking it from the wrong people. The far left and the far right were both guilty of using sex scandals as a weapon. The real injured party that Brock needs forgiveness from is the vast majority of Americans, Republican and Democrat, who do not think that one's sexual life is more important than dealing with legitimate government issues.

There is little about redemption in Brock's exposé. The book seems to serve little function other than to find him a new source of revenue. Like Madonna, Brock sees the need to transform his image and capitalize on a new fad. Unlike Madonna, he seems to do it in a rather unoriginal and deceitful fashion. No longer the political attack dog for the right, he wants a new weekend house for attacking the right from the left.

Times are different and America no longer has the luxury of worrying about people's sex lives. We have different leadership in the White House. President Bush has made it clear to any nation that harbors terrorists that he will use the full force of the United States to bring down that state. Even before September 11, George W. Bush demonstrated to the American people that his government was going to be a radical departure from the previous one.

During their first days in office, many Bush staffers complained about how Clintonites had "trashed" the Old Executive Office Building. We also heard about the large amounts of furniture taken by the Clintons. These would have been legitimate political targets during the '90s, but President Bush showed focus and restraint. Rather than score easy political points by making personal attacks, the president did not mention how government property was vandalized or how a former president had stolen government property. He focused on getting his government set up. His actions, or lack of actions, ended, at least on the presidential level, the politics of personal destruction. This White House was not going to play games but do the people's work.

The '90s provided this country with much material wealth. We had one of the most intelligent presidents in American history. One would have thought it would have been a golden decade for America. Yet, as a nation (especially in regards to our commander in chief) we lacked focus on the fundamentals. We cared about whether Clinton wore boxers or briefs. We cared about the state of his marriage. The blame is not entirely on the David Brocks of the media but also on the political leadership. We had a political class that made it seem like all this mattered. We thought, because we had a president that could "feel our pain" or did not mispronounce words, that we had leadership.

Politics under Clinton became personal. Yet throughout it all, we forgot to care about Clinton's job performance. Not his speaking ability; not his emphatic denials of having a relationship with that woman. Not even the stock market's incredible climbs. We forgot to ask the question, "Where is this all taking us?" The answer was whoever or wherever Clinton was at that moment. It so happened to be that because Clinton was Clinton, we were focused on sex.

The events of September 11 prove more than ever that our executive leadership needs to remain engaged with the world — but engaged while having direction. If government does what it is supposed to do, and if our leaders remain resolute, then perhaps we can complete the current mission and defeat this band of terrorists. Perhaps if this occurs, then we will stop paying Brock's mortgage and deal with our struggling economy and our national defense.

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