if the president was trying to do it to protect the country, then it would be okay. final question for set ed foley. if the president doesn't pursue the path of owning the quid pro quo, does he have any other legal defense to the underlying charges, that you see? >> well, yes, in the sense -- this may be more for the senate republicans than the president. i think there would be a principled position to take that even if the president acted improperly, the question is, what is the remedy? you can make the argument that removal from office is an excessive remedy for the wrongdoing, even assuming it was done for an electoral advantage. that would be wrongful, and many censuring the president would be appropriate, but if you remove him from office and take the next step for not letting him run for office, that is