Nobody believes that.
What they want to hear is a president who is truly contrite. A concession by Clinton might create an opening for negotiations with independent counsel Kenneth Starr and lead to a congressional sanction short of impeachment, some analysts suggest. But Clinton will find it hard to move away from his earlier denials of sex with Lewinsky, made in two sworn depositions. His first denial, made in January in the Paula Jones civil suit alleging that he had sexually harassed her while governor of Arkansas, is unlikely to be prosecutable, legal experts said. But false statements to grand juries, which Starr's report asserts Clinton made in August when he reiterated his earlier denial, often are prosecuted.