I think we do need to be leaders. And that's the thing that troubles me a great deal. But if we vote, like tomorrow or in the near future, we're going to defeat the treaty. That, to me, is the worst possible outcome. I would rather delay, until we can see if these things work, until we can resolve some of the verifiability problems that trouble a lot of people sincerely, then we're better off not voting.
Defeat is the worst possible outcome.
And the two sides now, the Republicans and Democrats are jockeying for domestic political advantage now. And it's a serious mistake. The treaty ought to be pulled until at least this election is over. The Senate wanted some assurance that if the President withdrew the ratification bill, that it would be for the rest of the 106th Congress. It sounds more like a political question than a national security one.