Enough’s Enough

Pat Robertson, the television evangelist who has been a leader in the impeachment effort against President Clinton, is ready to throw in the towel. Assessing the strongly positive public and political reaction to Clinton’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, Robertson told his television audience that the Senate “might as well dismiss this impeachment hearing and get on with something else, because it’s over as far as I’m concerned.” In fact it has been over virtually from the start, in the sense that there has never been much chance that two-thirds of the Senate would vote to remove Clinton from office. Robertson is only being a realist when he acknowledges that the cause he championed has failed.

The now year-old Monica Lewinsky scandal has taken many surprising turns, not least that Clinton has grown steadily more popular as the case has dragged on. At the beginning of this week two-thirds of Americans said they approved of the way he was doing his job. Immediately after his State of the Union speech Clinton’s standing in the polls rose 5% more, fresh evidence that however wrong most people might find his personal conduct they continue to be impressed by his political and communications skills. Even congressional Republicans, who spent much of Tuesday night sitting on their hands as the president spoke, concede his oratory was impressive.

And Clinton has not just gained on the emotional level. This week the Senate heard the case for the defense, and in our view the president’s lawyers scored some convincing points. On Tuesday, White House counsel Charles F.C. Ruff dissected the substance of the two impeachment articles, condemning them as “constitutionally defective.” On Wednesday, White House lawyers Gregory Craig and Cheryl Mills identified the flaws in the articles alleging that Clinton perjured himself and obstructed justice. On Thursday, David Kendall and former Arkansas Sen. Dale Bumpers wrapped up for the president, depicting the House’s vote to impeach as a rush to judgment that the Senate should reject. In all, it was an effective rebuttal to the vigorous arguments made by the House managers.

How many minds the president’s supporters might have changed is uncertain, but their presentations and Clinton’s successful speech have prompted some Republicans to soften their demand that witnesses be called to resolve contradictions. Indeed, if witnesses were needed to make the case against Clinton, they should have been summoned before House Republicans decided they knew enough to vote impeachment. It is far too late in this wearying drama to begin reaching desperately for an evidentiary lifeline.

The Senate is scheduled to vote Monday on whether to call witnesses. Before that, though, it will vote on a Democratic motion to dismiss the case against Clinton. That probably will fail to get the 51 votes it needs to pass. But the margin by which it is voted down should provide a signpost to where senators are headed. If it becomes clear that the 67 votes needed to convict Clinton are beyond reach, the Senate should heed Pat Robertson’s advice and bring the impeachment trial to a rapid end.