Top, front-page photos and comments regarding sexual allegations of the president in your daily paper (Jan. 22, 23) and the editorial in Maine Weekend (Jan. 24-25) sound anything but “forgiving, nonjudgmental … and not all that prudish.”

Your editorial features the White House “boudoir” story at the top of your column; TV broadcasts put this mess at the head of their so-called “news”; magazines feature speculative allegations. Whether or not they are true, the vindictive-appearing charges are less important to our region, our nation and the world than helping the millions of people living in despair and distress. These headlines about President Clinton and his accusers are demeaning to all the parties involved: the structure of our government, the departments, the individuals and their families.

There’s a lot of cheap talk and wasted money spent on speculations about the personal behavior of President Clinton. Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”? Let’s encourage success with existing policies and supporting causes solving real problems rather than wasting our tax dollars on “soaps” and gossip. Wilhelmina M. Eaton Camden

Let’s see, $34-plus million and it looks like we might finally get Bill. If we only spend $10 million a piece over the next four years we could probably catch a third of the 100 senators and the 435 members of the House in lies and misrepresentations, too. The cost would be a mere $535 million more, and we could keep the headlines coming, television news fueled, and our thirst for scandal satisfied. What a bargain. Then we could start the circus over again with the next group in power. No wonder we are viewed as a joke everywhere. Come on Washington and America, get a life. Don Roffey Woodland

For goodness sake, or our country’s sake, leave poor Clinton alone to do what you (not me) elected him to do — lead our country. His troubles aren’t going away. They may even be multiplying while they wait for him. Why not punish him by saying, “no pension”? Thelma Ross Calais