President Clinton put a horrendous year behind him by apologising to the American people after his Senate impeachment trial ended in acquittal. The good but not unexpected news came as Americans celebrated Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
In a brief address from the Rose Garden of the White House, a pale and strained looking Mr Clinton said that this must be "a time of reconciliation and renewal for America". There was no note of triumph or vindication in his 80-second remarks, in spite of the Senate's rejection of the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice which have been hanging over the President since he was impeached on December 19th.
Mr Clinton walked from the Oval Office to the outdoor podium and began: "Now that the Senate has fulfilled its constitutional responsibility by bringing this process to conclusion, 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 the American people."
Unlike the scene in the Rose Garden on the day the impeachment vote was taken, when Mrs Hillary Clinton, Vice-President Gore and scores of Democratic members of Congress surrounded him, the President stood alone. He appealed to all Americans to "rededicate ourselves to the work of serving our nation and building our future together."
He turned back to answer a question shouted by a journalist on whether he was prepared "to forgive" his opponents. "I believe any person who asks for forgiveness has to be prepared to give it," he replied but he ignored a question about feeling "vindicated".
Earlier in the day, the Senate voted the President "not guilty" on the two articles of impeachment. The perjury charge was rejected by 55 votes to 45 when 10 Republicans sided with the Democrats to vote it down. A two-thirds majority of 67 votes would have been needed to find the President guilty on either charge.
On the second charge of obstruction of justice, the Senate split evenly with 50 votes for and 50 against. This time five Republicans voted "not guilty".
Following the votes, Chief Justice William Rehnquist announced solemnly: "It is therefore ordered and adjudged that William Jefferson Clinton be and hereby is acquitted of the charges in the said articles."
These words brought an end to the extraordinary saga which has gripped world attention since the first reports of Mr Clinton's affair with the former White House intern, Ms Monica Lewinsky, burst on America just over a year ago.
The President did not watch the final verdict from the residential quarters of the White House, but was told the voting results by his Chief of Staff, Mr John Podesta. He then spent the morning preparing his address, talking with his wife and some of her friends and doing his "daily exercises", according to his spokesman.
Ms Lewinsky did watch the historic event on television, according to associates.
But in the White House itself, all signs of celebration were banned in accordance with the pledge by the President's spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, that it would be a "gloat-free zone".
Asked at his briefing yesterday why the President would not celebrate, Mr Lockhart replied that Mr Clinton is "relieved, but there is really nothing to celebrate".
The President was also spared a toughly-worded motion of censure which Democrats wanted to pass yesterday following the not guilty verdict. Republicans used their majority to prevent the censure motion being debated. Many of them felt it would be used by the Democrats as political cover for having acquitted the President.
Senator Edward Kennedy, who has been a staunch supporter of the President all through the ordeal, probably reflected the views of most Democrats when he said: "Today was a victory for the Constitution - there were no other winners."
On the Republican side there was some surprise that as many as 10 senators had crossed party lines to vote with the 45 Democrats, none of whom broke ranks.