Kent Conrad: “Mr. Chief Justice, I have served twelve years in the United States Senate. I respect this institution and all of you as…”

“Mr. Chief Justice, I have served twelve years in the United States Senate. I respect this institution and all of you as colleagues. I especially respect the job our leaders have done in this trial. They have performed in the highest tradition of the United States Senate. Most of all, I respect our oath of office: to ``preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.'' I know all of us take that oath seriously. At the end of this proceeding, however, we may reach different conclusions about what the Constitution compels us to do. The simple truth is that this case is not black and white. As Mr. Manager Graham said, reasonable people may come to different conclusions. There is one thing on which we all agree: The President's conduct was wrong. In fact, it was very wrong. But the question before us is not whether the President's conduct was wrong. The question is whether that conduct meets the Constitutional standard for removing a President from office. That requires us to make a profound judgment on whether we should overturn the results of a national election. 67 members in this chamber can nullify the votes of the 47 million Americans who voted for President Clinton. That is an awesome power. It must be used with great restraint.”