I watched the Holyfield/Lewis fight this past weekend. It is being called a "Brink's job," "a travesty," "Highway robbery," and, among other things a "terrible decision." One commentator said the judges "fraudulently converted it into a draw." Kinda the boxing cesspools version of the recent impeachment charade.

Now I like Evander Holyfield. He is a classy guy, a superb athlete, and a pearl among swine. However, the stark reality is, the heavyweight unification bout was NOT a draw. ... Holyfield got his butt whupped. He was out-boxed, out-hit, out-classed, and (if his religiosity is genuine), he should be ashamed and embarrassed by the result.

Holyfield landed 130 out of 348 punches thrown. That's 30 percent. Lewis landed 385 of 613 punches thrown. That's 57 percent. I am not the Lone Ranger in my opinion Lewis was robbed. Fans, commentators, pundits, experts, and the millions who saw the fight know the results reported by the three judges were hyperbole of creative writing. If ever there was a classic example of "folks not wanting to be confused with facts which contradict their preconceived opinion," the Holyfield/Lewis fight is it.

If you think about it, 1999 is turning out to be a/the year of hypocrisy, injustice, fraud, and duplicity. Even before Juanita Broaddrick's credibility was solidified, most Americans (regardless of race, creed, sex, political affiliation, or even what NFL team they support) believed Bill Clinton lied under oath, and obstructed justice.

America is atrophying into what threatens to be homogenous goo of primordial excrement.

Whenever an injustice is highlighted (whether a rigged boxing match, or the partisan putridity of the alleged impeachment trial ... the essence of America is diminished. I am old enough to remember when excellence was recognized, encouraged, and something for which people would strive. Before outcome based education, job performance, and the cancer of compelling self-esteem (regardless of merit), excellence was a good thing. Before women attended parachute training in tennis shoes, and teamwork was bastardized into synthesizing the weaknesses of the lowest rather than the strengths of the best, excellence was admired. Before accountability was ignored, and blame became transferable, before the definition of the word "is" was multiple choice, America was great.

Alexis deTocqueville once noted "America is great because America is good ... when America ceases to be good, it will cease to be great." Sadly, we apparently are rapidly approaching that apex.

Sports are supposed to be a crystallization of talent and skill. The better man (or woman) on any given day would triumph. That's the way it ought to be ... however, not the way it is. Regrettably, based on facts in evidence, that is no longer true. The axiom is moot ... and we are all made the lesser for it.

Robert Jarvick (the inventor of the artificial heart) once noted, "Leaders are visionaries with a poorly developed sense of fear and no concept of the odds against them...they make things happen." Notwithstanding contemporary facts, I am sending that quote to every member of congress, and to Lenox Lewis.

Despite the redefinition of terms, and America's apparent willingness to accept the unacceptable, certain facts remain. Oh, some charlatan draped in a masquerade of officialdom can issue a proclamation nullifying reality, but the right remains right and wrong remains wrong.

Bill Clinton IS a perjurer. He has, is, and will continue to obstruct justice. He has been, is, and will remain a hypocritical misogynist. He has been, is, and will remain (despite future revisionist efforts to re-write history) a contemptible human being. His professional and personal conduct has been (as the Democrats say) "egregious, reprehensible, and indefensible".

Lenox Lewis is the best contemporary heavyweight boxer in the world. The reasons no heavyweight "contender" wants to fight him, and have all been carefully avoiding him, was demonstrated Saturday night. He hit Evander Holyfield more times than Holyfield threw punches. Lewis hit Holyfield with 57 percent of the 613 punches he threw. The favorite son only hit the British fighter 130 times (and only about three of those were effective).

Someone (please, anyone) needs to do a statistical analysis of what has happened in the Congressional arena. How many punches has congress thrown at the president? How many have landed? It is a matter of record the administration has used government resources (our money) to undermine, devalue, and try to taint critics. Scandal and controversy have become synonymous with the Clinton administration. Whitewater, Travelgate, Filegate, Zippergate, Chinagate, the infamous 332-page Communication Stream of Conspiracy Commerce, Rapegate and more. Always speaking on "conditions of anonymity" we actually hear "Treason" whispered. Hypocrisy and disingenuous duplicity have now become the new axioms.

I watched the conclusion of the fight and saw the look of shock and incredulity on the face of Lenox Lewis (obviously the better man, to anyone not sucking off the mammary glands of Don King). I saw the same expression from some when Clinton was acquitted. Sadly, far fewer were surprised with the blatantly wrong decision in the sham Senate trial than were stunned by the alleged "draw" Saturday night.

I asked myself, why? Why were not more people shocked and amazed at the monumental malfeasance of the Senate, than were stunned by the brain flatulence of a boxing decision? Then it struck me: conditioning and incrementalism.

What happened with the impeachment trial, and what happened in the Holyfield/Lewis fight happened, because we allowed it to happen. America has been conditioned to be excessively forgiving. We have allowed others to lower the bar lower and lower, so those standards that were once revered and admired, have become lofty unattainable goals. Our previous standard of and for excellence has been replaced with a lowest common denominator acceptance. High standards, principles, and excellence are diminished as anachronisms. Alexis de Tocqueville also said "Americans are so enamoured of equality they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom."...and that was before outcome based anything. We must be preconditioned for atrophy.

How else could America ever accept a U.S. congressperson, (who has taken an oath to "preserve and protect the Constitution") who claims the Constitution is "like my old blue dress ... it just doesn't fit anymore." Ellen Tauscher said that, and few even wrinkled a brow.

P.J. O'Rourke once observed, "Giving money and power to the government is like give car keys and whiskey to teenage boys." We should know the result.

By the way, for the record, despite what future books will print: Bill Clinton is an international disgrace. He is a liar, a cheat and a cad. He diminishes whatever is left of our national honor every moment he continues to pollute the office he holds. And Lenox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in every measurable way a sporting contest can be judged. History may report otherwise, but you and I were here for the first draft, and we should know better.