Democrats Walking Away, With Dignity

They felt no sense of triumph, no pride that their side had prevailed.

They were too exhausted for that--so drained, both physically and emotionally, that when the end came, it was all they could do to speak their part.

In fact, for the 45 Senate Democrats who had closed ranks to save President Clinton’s job, the only source of satisfaction was that they had emerged from this tawdry business with dignity and respect, that they had not shamed the venerable institution they serve as they fulfilled their constitutional duty to try the president.

“I hope the scorecard isn’t on who won or who lost,” said Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.). “The way I voted, I think the Constitution won.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was similarly reserved: “There is no way you can look at this and say damage has not been done.”

“The Senate did the right thing,” said Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.), “and did it in a dignified way.”

After the months-long impeachment ordeal, the Democrats could take comfort in the fact that they comported themselves with more grace in trying Clinton than the House had in impeaching him. Senators of both parties betrayed little of the raw, partisan fury that had marked the House’s deliberations.

Democrats Praise Lott, Daschle

“The vote today was not so much a vindication for the president as it was an indictment of the blatant vindictiveness of the House of Representatives,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa).

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) expressed a similar sentiment: “The House didn’t even try to locate the common ground.” Wyden joined several other Democratic senators in praising Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) as well as Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) for maintaining civility despite the divisive nature of the impeachment process.

“They set the tone,” Wyden said.

Overshadowing Democrats’ slender sense of satisfaction at avoiding the acrimony that had prevailed in the House was a sense of having barely staggered to the finish line.

Like shipwreck survivors, many senators seemed surprised to find that they had made it to a final vote and the Senate’s business would go on.

Certainly they felt closer to their colleagues than they had when the trial started, yet they largely kept their own counsel through the five weeks of deliberations. It was a shared experience and a lonely one.

‘We Feel Closer Walking Out’

“It’s just very hard for me to talk about the experience,” said Daschle, speaking slowly, his voice slightly hoarse.

“The emotional and physical drain it’s meant for all of us is something I’d never wish on anybody,” he said.

Daschle worked ceaselessly over the five weeks of the trial, according to his colleagues, talking to many of his fellow Democrats late at night on the phone to make sure they had whatever materials they needed, working closely with Lott and ensuring that the White House had whatever procedural information it needed.

“We were thrown into a set of adverse circumstances,” he said, smiling a bit ruefully. “We didn’t want to be there, but we feel closer walking out of there.”

Many Democrats, as they walked off the Senate floor, said they wanted to get their feet back on solid ground and spend time with their families.

“There was such a sense of--not just relief--but peace,” said Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).

“I’m going to join my wife and four children, and we’re going to spend some time together,” said Sen. John D. “Jay” Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.). He added that he was headed to New York to have dinner with his family and take his mind off the Senate’s travails by going to a play “about medical ethics and death.”

Sen. John B. Breaux (D-La.) headed home as soon as the vote was over. “I’m going to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which I am going to enjoy thoroughly.”

Whatever their immediate destination, the Democrats felt a great sense of relief--but little more.

“There are no winners,” Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) acknowledged. “Nobody wins.”