Herb Kohl: “Mr. Chief Justice, throughout this process my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have conducted themselves with…”

“Mr. Chief Justice, throughout this process my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have conducted themselves with decency and dignity, exactly the qualities President Clinton's conduct lacked. But we risk opening the floodgates to more party-line impeachments if we oust a President from office for behavior that--while truly deplorable--isn't truly removable. Lowering the standard would do as great a disservice to the Constitution as the President's behavior has done to the Oval Office. So I am voting to acquit on both articles. I state these conclusions with a certainty I do not feel. We have heard many say these votes are the most difficult they will ever cast, and I agree. This case is made up of many small questions, matters of opinion and fact: Did the President lie? Did he commit perjury? Did he obstruct justice? Did he weaken the judicial system? Did he undermine the Constitution? Are these 'high' crimes? Is this what the Founders envisioned when they talked about removal of a President? Most of us have answers for each of these questions. Most of us will lay them out in well-worded, well-argued statements. But the sum of the answers is not the sum of this case. The sum of our opinions, our findings of fact, and our legal briefs cannot sum up the deep disquiet I feel about the failings, lies, and weakness displayed by the President. Under the cold body of evidence before us runs the bad blood of bad character, and that deeply disturbs me.”