Next Stop, Impeachment Hearings?

WASHINGTON: Better book your seat now for the Clinton impeachment hearings. As Congress returns to work Monday, the fate of Ken Starr's referral -- and of the President himself -- lies solely in the hands of Henry Hyde and his House Judiciary Committee. Their task is twofold: Decide how much more of that explosive document to release to a scandal-fatigued public, and ruminate on whether the prickly details warrant an impeachment inquiry. Hyde, however, doesn't need any more ruminating time. The chairman decreed over the weekend that hearings are necessary, but has graciously agreed to "hear from everyone on the committee."

In rushing to judgment, Hyde is hardly alone. A number of lawmakers on both sides have decided that resignation is the only option; they were joined Monday by USA Today, the largest media outlet yet to call for Clinton to step down. But most people, if polls are to be believed, are equally adamant in their support. The President's job approval rating clings onto those mid-60s for dear life, say CBS, NBC and ABC. What's more, the largest percentage of those polls -- between 59 and 67 -- favor neither impeachment nor resignation but a third option: congressional censure, a slap on the wrist. That's the closest there is to a consensus in the country right now, and it could be that the President's seemingly untenable public posture -- sending his lawyers onto talk shows to argue that perjury is not perjury -- may just be the first step on the road to a negotiated settlement.