Loudest Senate Voices Favor a Full-Blown Trial

WASHINGTON: Congress' short winter of pre-trial spinning is almost over Senators, your closing statements please. "As a precedent it has to be done right; there's going to be a long shadow," said Republican Arlen Specter, demanding witnesses. Orrin Hatch, in a Washington Post op-ed, warned that a trial without witnesses would be "a repudiation of the House's decision to impeach President Clinton." Slade Gorton, meanwhile, could only muster an "I think it's logical" for his bipartisan plan to short-circuit the trial after a few days "but I have still to persuade 28 members." Is the tide turning?

The White House, at least, is getting ready for its worst nightmare. Joe Lockhart allowed Monday that Clinton is ready to postpone his State of the Union address if the trial is ongoing. It's beginning to look like undecided Republicans may well listen to to their conservative base and follow the lead of their House counterparts. After all, the best way to avoid getting run over by the impeachment train is to just get out of the way.