Only in Washington is not making a decision considered bipartisan.

Senators have decided on the ground rules for the impeachment trial of President Clinton, but they have not decided on whether or not to call witnesses.

Senators are putting off the decision until the trial is in session, postponing it in an effort to appear bipartisan.

Looks can often be deceiving.

The senators remain split along party lines on whether to call witnesses — and if so, how to go about it.

Do we really need to hear from Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton or anybody else?

What else can be said?

We already know every detail about the relationship.

There is almost nothing that can make us think worse of the president and the players in this mess.

What else can be learned?

Do we want or need to know anything else?

Congress is often referred to as the “people’s body,” but they have not shown it.

Our elected officials have not listened to their constituents throughout this process.

With an overwhelming majority of Americans opposed to impeachment and disposed favorably toward the president and his job performance, a trial should not even be taking place.

Now senators are proposing a short trial because they do not believe they have the votes to remove the president.

Impeachment was always a bad idea.

But now that impeachment is the agenda, we can hardly go back. In order to safeguard the seriousness of impeachment for future generations, it is necessary to take this trial seriously.

They need to be a fair and impartial jury, and they should not short circuit the process.

The Framers gave the Senate a constitutional responsibility that is very serious.

They ultimately need to decide on what is the right thing to do.

What the Senate does in the early part of 1999 will set the standard for future Congressmen considering the removal of a sitting president.

The Senate needs to make an effort to give some respectability to an impeachment that has been bitterly partisan up to this point.

By conducting a fair and bipartisan trial, the American people will have restored confidence in their elected officials in Washington.

Hopefully, if the trial is conducted right, impeachment will remain a last resort and not a political convenience.