It apparently took the Managers by surprise. He simply said that upon reflection and upon being subjected to the prolonged and divisive presentation of the Impeachment Managers and the resulting defense of the President, he felt that the time had come to end it. He saw no way that the necessary 2/3rds majority required for removal will emerge and therefore the sooner the trial is ended the better. In addition to Senator Byrd, a vastly respected authority on Senate traditions and probity and rectitude, a small but increasingly important number of Republicans are expressing the same concern. As concluded in this column yesterday, the bell is tolling, and yes, Mr. Starr, Mr. Hyde, it is tolling for you.

In other news, Starr is now pushing to get Monica on the stand. He feels that there are some areas, like what time Betty Currie actually called, was it 4 P.M. or 3:30 P.M.?, that can help establish a greater credibility for his circumstantial evidence. Ho hum. But he has sought an "emergency court order," to compel her to testify, and he has done this at the request of Henry Hyde. If the judge grants this request, Monica will face intense questioning over the the weekend. Perhaps as early as today.

There is a lot of discussion about whether or not she MUST be interviewed based on her immunity agreement. But why is Ken Starr getting involved as this point? He's worried, perhaps. He says he is "duty-bound" to assist the House managers. But the Managers want to speak with her before she testifies, to avoid "surprises." This is probably not part of the agreement and attempting to force her to do it, may be a breach of contract, the immunity agreement.

I don't know, but to me if she gets to testify, I would bet that she would have the same effect on the Senators that she did on the Grand Jury: they loved her. She was personable, funny, attractive and consistently refused to put her friend, Bill, down. Some of the testimony she gave the Grand Jury, was so funny they had to stop for a while. And her discussion of her relationship with President Clinton indicated that they were having fun. So, if Henry gets her to testify if may well have the opposite effect he is hoping for.

Has there ever been a more classic case of not getting it?