They thought they finally had the votes to kill it, dealing President Clinton a political setback. Clinton has hardly contributed to a reasoned debate. Having wasted valuable time and tarnished his presidency with personal misbehavior, he has become shrill in his pursuit of a legacy. It's difficult to tell, when he takes a position on any issue, whether he is speaking with concern for the nation's well-being or trying to build a record in the history books that he hopes will overshadow his impeachment. All his earnest appeals, whether aimed at ratifying the treaty or building more schools or passing gun control legislation, sound the same.
Republican leaders occupy no higher plane of merit.
In their zeal to deny Clinton a legacy and to stockpile what they apparently believe are talking points for the 2000 elections, they have become a corps of obstruction and non-compromise in the legislative branch, not only on the treaty but on other key issues. At one point this week, both Clinton and some GOP leaders seemed disposed to pull back the treaty, but each demanded that the other make the first move. As a way of handling the great issues of war and peace, the picture was abysmally pathetic. A global test ban was proposed by President Dwight Eisenhower before he left office in 1961. President John Kennedy negotiated a modified version in 1963 that has almost totally eliminated open-air nuclear tests and is still remembered as one of his administration's greatest accomplishments.