WASHINGTON -- A subdued President Clinton said Friday he was "profoundly sorry" for the trauma his affair with Monica Lewinsky had caused, and he called for reconciliation now that he has been acquitted by the Senate.
In sharp contrast to the defiant, almost celebratory comments he made shortly after the House of Representatives impeached him in December, Clinton acted like an exhausted man crossing the finish line.Before reporters and camera crews in the White House Rose Garden, a soft-spoken Clinton said he was grateful the Senate had rejected articles of impeachment accusing him of perjury and obstruction of justice in trying to conceal his sexual escapades with the former White House intern.
"I want to say again to the American people how profoundly sorry I am for what I said and did to trigger these events and the great burden they have imposed on the Congress and on the American people," he said.
Saying he was "humbled and very grateful for the support and the prayers I have received from millions of Americans" since the scandal erupted in January 1998, Clinton asked that the partisan rancor that engulfed him now be set aside.
"Now I ask all Americans, and I hope all Americans, here in Washington and throughout our land, will rededicate ourselves to the work of serving our nation and building our future together," Clinton said.
"This can be and this must be a time of reconciliation and renewal for America," Clinton said.
After his comment, Clinton paused to answer a reporter who asked whether in his heart, he could truly forgive the political rivals who had pressed for his removal from office.
"I believe any person who asks for forgiveness has to be prepared to give it," Clinton said before turning to walk back to the Oval Office.
After his public remarks, Clinton sent a message of apology to his White House staff, saying, "I know that my actions and the events they triggered have made your work even harder.
"For that, I am profoundly sorry," he said, adding that he was "profoundly grateful" for the loyalty staffers had shown him and the nation.
Clinton and his aides had an intense behind-the-scenes debate over his reaction to the Senate vote. There was fear that any gloating on his part would antagonize his opponents and end any chance of administration success with the Republican-controlled Congress.
Clinton tried to avoid images like those in December, when some 70 House Democrats rode in buses to the White House for what amounted to a pep rally for the president in the wake of the impeachment vote.
That event only thickened an already partisan atmosphere and generated broad criticism, even among some Democrats.
Clinton broke from his normal routine Friday and remained in the private residence of the White House in the morning, collecting his thoughts on the political drama that has shadowed him for the past year.
White House press secretary Joe Lockhart said Clinton did not watch the Senate vote on television, opting instead to work out in his private gymnasium as the roll-call vote was being taken.
White House chief of staff John Podesta told Clinton of the vote, offering a breakdown on the number of Republicans who sided with him over the two articles of impeachment.
Before the vote, the man with the legendary skills of communication ordered aides not to discuss even the means he would choose to share his thoughts with the world. The options ranged from formal remarks in the Oval Office to remarks delivered before reporters or a printed statement.
In the end, aides said, it was decided that Clinton needed to face television cameras and renew his apology for lying to the American people about his affair and to call for a return to the issues facing Congress and the White House.
"We're going to proceed aggressively with the agenda the president laid out in the State of the Union and the priorities he laid out in the budget," senior Clinton adviser Doug Sosnik said.
"I don't think there's any mystery to that," said Sosnik, who said there would be no major changes in Clinton's agenda now that the impeachment process was over.
Lockhart, who had been caught in the media storm over the sex scandal, said he believed the Senate's vote had brought "a sense of relief" to the White House.
"I think it may change the atmosphere in this town, hopefully to the positive," he said. "The president looks forward to working with Democrats and Republicans on a bipartisan basis to get his agenda enacted."