David Kendall had alerted the TV networks that Bill would briefly address the nation at to P.M. eastern standard time.Some of Bill's most trusted advisers gathered in the Solarium to help him work on his statement.David Kendall was there, as was Chelsea, who was trying to make sense of what was happening.I stayed away, at first. I didn't much want to help Bill compose his public statement on a matter that violated my sense of decency and privacy.Finally, though, out of habit, maybe curiosity, perhaps love, I went upstairs.When I walked into the room at about 8 P.M., someone quickly switched off the sound on the television set.They knew I couldn't stand to hear whatever was being said.When I asked how things were going, it was clear that Bill still hadn't decided what to say.He wanted people to know that he deeply regretted misleading his family, his friends and his country.He also wanted them to know that he did not believe he had lied during the Jones deposition because the questions had been so clumsybut that sounded like legalistic hairsplitting.He had made a terrible mistake, then tried to keep it a secret, and he needed to apologize.At the same time, he didn't think that, the President of the United States could afford to appear on television looking weak.As the hour for his statement approached,everyone was putting in his or her two cents, and this was not helping Bill.He wanted to use this opportunity to point out the unfairness and excesses of Starr's investigation,
戴维・肯德尔已经通知电视网，比尔将在美国东部时间当晚十点，通过电视向全国民众发表简短演说。事前，比尔最信赖的几位幕僚群聚日光浴室内帮他研拟讲稿。戴维・肯德尔在那，切尔西也在那里，希望能有所帮助。起初我打算撒手不管，不想帮他草拟那份将提及令我难堪的隐私的公开声明。但不知是出于习惯、好奇心或是爱意，我终究还是走上楼去。当我在晚间八点走进日光浴室时，有人立即关掉了电视的声音，他们知道我无法忍受媒体所说的东西。当我问起讲稿进度时，显然当时比尔还拿不定主意要说什么。比尔想让美国民众了解，他对自己先前隐瞒事实误导家人、朋友及国家的做法深感遗憾。他也期望说明，他并不认为自己在为琼斯案提供证词时说了谎，因为提问者的问题实在含混不清，但他的话听上去像认为是法律的吹毛求疵。他犯了严重的过错还意图隐瞒，当然应该道歉。然而，两难的是，比尔认为，美国总统绝不可在电视上示弱。比尔发表声明的时刻渐渐逼近，大家七嘴八舌地出主意，可对比尔都没多少帮助。他想利用这个机会指出斯塔尔调查中不公平和过分之处，
暂无注释
