Bob Livingston had meant to provide an example. After making what he probably knew were two vain pleas -- one for the President to resign and one for the House to heal its divisions - the Speaker-elect of the House told Clinton that "I can only challenge you in such fashion if I am prepared to heed my own words." Livingston, in front of a shocked House, abruptly quit -- and drew a bipartisan standing ovation. There was already a rumored replacement by day's end, an obscure Illinois Republican named Dennis Hastert.
Clinton reportedly hadnt even watched the voting, and his message on this gray Saturday evening was determinedly un-Nixon-like. Instead of stepping down, Clinton the great campaigner will spend a long and busy winter on one last bid. He has a slogan -- "Stop the politics of personal destruction" -- and an escape plan: bipartisan censure. To win, he has to remind Americans how much they always wanted him to stay.