Salon Newsreal | The tide turns -- again

A L S O+T O D A Y

Stalking the president
By Mollie Dickenson
Linda Tripp could help Julie Hiatt Steele -- and President Clinton -- refute Kathleen Willey's charges

Reactions to the president's speech
Experts discuss Clinton's performance and what effects his proposals would have on the actual problems he identified as priorities

T A B L E+T A L K
What medicines do you take? Discuss the meaning of your medicine chest in the Science and Health area of Table Talk
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Visit barnesandnoble.com for politics books on both sides of the aisle
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R E C E N T L Y
The war against sprawl I
By Rob Gurwitt
Think Al Gore's "smart growth" plan is a no-brainer? Think again
(01/21/99)
The war against sprawl, II
By Susan Zakin
It's owls against developers in Arizona's Oro Valley
(01/21/99)
We interrupt this impeachment ...
By Joshua Micah Marshall
Two years in a row, Clinton's State of the Union address proves he won't follow the Presidential Tragedy script
(01/20/99)
Dear Henry
By Sean Wilentz, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and C. Vann Woodward
Historians talk back to House impeachment managers
(01/20/99)
What might have been
By Joan Walsh
It's hard to watch this president perform so well, knowing that he has already undermined his -- and our -- hopes for any real legislative success
(01/20/99)
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THE TIDE TURNS -- AGAIN | PAGE 1, 2
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But Clinton's lawyers poked holes in much of the House's case on the facts as well. Cheryl Mills challenged the chronology of the events that forms the basis for the obstruction case against the president, showing that the actions of Betty Currie, Vernon Jordan and Monica Lewinsky had been either misstated or misinterpreted by the House managers. At the end of the day, what is most striking about the conclusion of the trial presentations is just how little had changed. On the merits, the entire exercise could fairly be called a moderate success for the White House. But in a larger sense, it's really one more example of a story line we've seen a lot of in the Lewinsky crisis: the story of the shoe that didn't drop. The case against the president turned out to be much less formidable than anticipated, and the momentum has swung back in Clinton's favor. Again.
This has all led to a certain bounce in the step of Democratic senators as they leave the trial proceedings to go out and meet the press. The new question seems to be: How can Senate Republicans find a way out of going on with a full trial, with witnesses, without embarrassing their colleagues in the House. On Tuesday afternoon, Senate Democrats received polling data that only encouraged them to take a strong line against a full trial. The data confirmed the steep declines in the voters' trust in the Republican Party that public polls have shown. Democrats even got better ratings on core Republican issues like tax cuts. One Senate Democratic aide, who until recently had doubted the impeachment mess would have much effect in 2000, told Salon he was struck by how much recent events have convinced voters that Republicans are little more than an anti-Clinton party.
The polls also discouraged Senate Democrats from taking the cautious, defensive and almost docile tone they have frequently adopted through the course of the impeachment proceedings. That approach, they were advised, may hurt them by implying that they have something to hide. For much of the last year, Democrats -- and particularly those in the Senate -- have operated on the assumption that somehow, some way, the other shoe would finally have to drop. Either more anti-Clinton information would surface or the cumulative weight of evidence would finally turn the public against the president. But even at this late stage that hasn't happened.
Pollsters are telling Democrats that the public does not see the Senate proceedings as fundamentally different from the partisan proceedings that took place last month in the House. And thus Democrats are being counseled to be neither defensive nor mild-mannered, and to voice their concerns over efforts to drag out the trial. The chief political concern of Senate Republicans -- not humiliating their friends in the House -- does not seem to be an issue for American voters. All of this leaves Senate Democrats with less and less reason to compromise with Republicans on the various procedural debates and votes that will arise over the coming days.
SALON | Jan. 22, 1999
Joshua Micah Marshall, associate editor of the American Prospect, is covering the impeachment trial for Salon.

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A L S O+T O D A Y Stalking the president By Mollie Dickenson Linda Tripp could help Julie Hiatt Steele -- and President Clinton -- refute Kathleen Willey's charges Reactions to the president's speech Experts discuss Clinton's performance and what effects his proposals would have on the actual problems he identified as priorities T A B L E+T A L K What medicines do you take? Discuss the meaning of your medicine chest in the Science and Health area of Table Talk ___________________ Visit barnesandnoble.com for politics books on both sides of the aisle ___________________ R E C E N T L Y The war against sprawl I By Rob Gurwitt Think Al Gore's "smart growth" plan is a no-brainer? Think again (01/21/99) The war against sprawl, II By Susan Zakin It's owls against developers in Arizona's Oro Valley (01/21/99) We interrupt this impeachment ... By Joshua Micah Marshall Two years in a row, Clinton's State of the Union address proves he won't follow the Presidential Tragedy script (01/20/99) Dear Henry By Sean Wilentz, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. and C. Vann Woodward Historians talk back to House impeachment managers (01/20/99) What might have been By Joan Walsh It's hard to watch this president perform so well, knowing that he has already undermined his -- and our -- hopes for any real legislative success (01/20/99) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		THE TIDE TURNS -- AGAIN \| PAGE 1, 2 - - - - - - - - - - But Clinton's lawyers poked holes in much of the House's case on the facts as well. Cheryl Mills challenged the chronology of the events that forms the basis for the obstruction case against the president, showing that the actions of Betty Currie, Vernon Jordan and Monica Lewinsky had been either misstated or misinterpreted by the House managers. At the end of the day, what is most striking about the conclusion of the trial presentations is just how little had changed. On the merits, the entire exercise could fairly be called a moderate success for the White House. But in a larger sense, it's really one more example of a story line we've seen a lot of in the Lewinsky crisis: the story of the shoe that didn't drop. The case against the president turned out to be much less formidable than anticipated, and the momentum has swung back in Clinton's favor. Again. This has all led to a certain bounce in the step of Democratic senators as they leave the trial proceedings to go out and meet the press. The new question seems to be: How can Senate Republicans find a way out of going on with a full trial, with witnesses, without embarrassing their colleagues in the House. On Tuesday afternoon, Senate Democrats received polling data that only encouraged them to take a strong line against a full trial. The data confirmed the steep declines in the voters' trust in the Republican Party that public polls have shown. Democrats even got better ratings on core Republican issues like tax cuts. One Senate Democratic aide, who until recently had doubted the impeachment mess would have much effect in 2000, told Salon he was struck by how much recent events have convinced voters that Republicans are little more than an anti-Clinton party. The polls also discouraged Senate Democrats from taking the cautious, defensive and almost docile tone they have frequently adopted through the course of the impeachment proceedings. That approach, they were advised, may hurt them by implying that they have something to hide. For much of the last year, Democrats -- and particularly those in the Senate -- have operated on the assumption that somehow, some way, the other shoe would finally have to drop. Either more anti-Clinton information would surface or the cumulative weight of evidence would finally turn the public against the president. But even at this late stage that hasn't happened. Pollsters are telling Democrats that the public does not see the Senate proceedings as fundamentally different from the partisan proceedings that took place last month in the House. And thus Democrats are being counseled to be neither defensive nor mild-mannered, and to voice their concerns over efforts to drag out the trial. The chief political concern of Senate Republicans -- not humiliating their friends in the House -- does not seem to be an issue for American voters. All of this leaves Senate Democrats with less and less reason to compromise with Republicans on the various procedural debates and votes that will arise over the coming days. SALON \| Jan. 22, 1999 Joshua Micah Marshall, associate editor of the American Prospect, is covering the impeachment trial for Salon. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Become a Salon member. Click here.