Not that the White House comes off blameless. As we said earlier this week, the Clinton administration sat back and failed to build the support the treaty needed in Congress. In 1996, Clinton was the first head of a country to sign the treaty. That he then failed to do the necessary work to ensure its ratification in the Senate is inexcusable. The treaty would not end the very real threat the world still faces from the nuclear arsenal its most technically advanced nations have created, but it would be a verifiable step toward reducing that threat.
Politicians usually jump at the opportunity to do the right and popular thing.
Unless, apparently, the alternative is to deliver some political payback to a president who got away.