On October 7, a delegation of freshmen House members came to see me in the White House. Once again, we met in the Yellow Oval Room as sunlight streamed through the windows. They were worried that the Republicans would force an impeachment vote before the midterm election. I gave the best pep talk I could. "We can't let them hound the President out of office," I said. "Not like this. You're members of Congress. Your job is to protect the Constitution and do what's right for the country. So let's walk through this."

The consensus among Democrats and the few remaining moderate Republicans on the Hill was that censure―a vote of reprimand―would be the most appropriate response to Bill's behavior. But powerful Republicans were adamantly opposed to the compromise. Henry Hyde, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, derided the notion of censure as "impeachment lite."

He blamed the White House for a September 16 piece in Salon, an Internet magazine, that reported that he had carried on a lengthy love affair during the 1960s, while he was married to his late wife. Hyde called his infidelity, which took place when he was in his forties, a "youthful indiscretion."

Despite my many political and ideological differences with Hyde, I was sympathetic to his distress, although mystified that he didn't see the double standard in his reaction.