The Great Disconnect

(5 of 5)

And then, of course, Mathis administered the coup de grace. Some people, he wrote, have already suggested that by accepting the consequences of his actions, the principal "has actually set a better example for our children than a certain scandal-plagued President."

And so the town of Emporia, a Republican stronghold where people generally agree that it would be better if Clinton disappeared, has supported the principal's decision to resign: reaching out to him in this painful moment but not trying to change his mind. "It's been a tough week," says Kathy Dreirer, whose daughters attend the principal's school. "The big thing at our house is lying," Dreirer says. "The kids ask, 'Why can the President get away with it, and we cannot?' I can't explain it. So I have to tell them, 'Because we're not his parents.'"