Two former US Presidents, Mr Gerald Ford and Mr Jimmy Carter, have called for the Senate to censure President Clinton instead of proceeding with a trial. This would help to heal the "grievous and deepening wound" caused by last week's impeachment vote, they say.
The two ex-Presidents - one a Republican, the other a Democrat - recall that each of them had made difficult decisions in deciding to pardon Richard Nixon and grant amnesty to those who had avoided the draft in the Vietnam War.
In an article in the New York Times yesterday entitled "A Time to Heal Our Nation", the former presidents say that under their proposal for a bi-partisan resolution of censure in the Senate, "President Clinton would have to accept rebuke while acknowledging his wrong-doing and the very real harm he has caused."
But the proposed censure would also require Mr Clinton to make a "public acknowledgement that he did not tell the truth under oath". Up to now the President has refused to do this.
The President's legal counsel, Mr Gregory Craig, while welcoming the idea of censure, said bluntly: "The notion that he's going to come forward and say he lied is not going to happen. He's not going to concede he lied to the grand jury because he did not."
Efforts are obviously going to take place behind the scenes in the coming weeks to get around this obstacle. One of the reasons Mr Clinton has felt unable to admit to lying under oath is that this would leave him open to prosecution for perjury after he leaves office.
Mr Ford and Mr Carter propose that the President be granted immunity from criminal prosecution and that the independent counsel, Mr Ken Starr, might "publicly forgo the option of bringing such charges against the President when Mr Clinton leaves office".
Mr Clinton's defence team is also considering challenging the constitutionality of the President being tried by the Senate on the basis of impeachment articles voted by the outgoing House of Representatives. Some legal experts have argued that the incoming House, which convenes on January 6th, should have to approve impeachment before the Senate can proceed. But other experts challenge this view, pointing out that judges who were tried and dismissed by the Senate had been impeached by the House of Representatives from the previous Congress. Meanwhile, new opinion polls confirm that there is strong opposition to the Senate convicting and dismissing President Clinton in the first such trial since that of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. A Gallup poll for CNN/USA Today taken after last Saturday's impeachment vote shows that 68 per cent say Mr Clinton should not be convicted, up from 63 per cent the week before.
His job approval ratings have reached 73 per cent in this poll, which is his highest ever.
The polls are also showing a backlash against Republicans, whose ratings have slipped to their lowest since 1992 when President George Bush lost to Mr Clinton. Just 31 per cent say they have a favourable view of the Republican party.
The White House has also been urging former Senate majority leader, Mr George Mitchell, who is also a former judge, to play a leading role in Mr Clinton's defence in the Senate trial. The President's chief of staff, Mr John Podesta, said: "Senator Mitchell has been advising the President, and he's been advising me and the staff handling this matter on this and other matters for some time in an informal way, and we're continuing to talk to him."
The President will continue this week to host Christmas parties at the White House, including one for the media and their families.
Yesterday he and Mrs Clinton spent some time helping at a Washington soup kitchen for poor people. Later in the week, the President will read holiday stories in the East Room of the White House to children.