Politics

The Impeachment Proceedings

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 27, 1999 / 4:47 PM EST / CBS

Just six weeks into 1999, the nation's long national nightmare ended. Impeachment proceedings were gaveled to a close and the President had been acquitted.

But in the weeks and months that followed, the ordeal kept coming back like a bad penny no one wanted, yet some seemed willing to spend. The White House was suspicious of the Hill's every move, knowing full well the President's impeachment had become valuable political capital.

Take the Nuclear Test Ban vote, for example, the centerpiece of Mr. Clinton's foreign policy agenda. As the debate closed, North Carolina Republican Senator Jesse Helms infuriated Democrats when he mocked a phone call the President made to British Prime Minister Tony Blair

"And I know Tony said, 'Oh, yes, I'll do that. I'll do that. And give Monica my regards,'" quipped Helms back in October.

In March, at his first press conference of the year, the President vowed to move beyond the bitterness, and stop thinking about his political enemies.

"Anything I say or do, or any time I spend working on that, will detract from my ability to be an effective President. And I owe that to the American people, and so that's what I m going to focus on."

And there was good reason to believe him. The President still had a legacy to chase, and Republicans were anxious to rack up some accomplishments to use in the 2000 campaign.

But the list of failures on both sides soon outweighed their successes. Fixing Social Security and Medicare was put on hold. A Patient's Bill of Rights was talked about, but never achieved. Gun Control legislation fizzled out, as did campaign finance reform, and the biggest tax cut in years was vetoed by the White House.

It was only under the pressure of the calendar that both sides even managed to agree on a budget.

The mood has gotten so rancorous that some members of Congress have even held special retreats on how to be civil to one another. But with the election season heating up, there are few here who think Washington is going to become more polite anytime soon.

Written by Lee Cowan.