That pledge may persuade senators from both parties to vote for the plan, Mr. Ewing said.

She made one last appearance before Congress in 1893, where she persuaded various senators to endorse a limited suffrage proposal.

The cable association has been blitzing Congress with lobbyists and television advertisements, hoping to persuade Republican senators to block the bill.

And the presentations were deliberately exhaustive in hopes of persuading senators that they simply cannot vote just to dismiss the impeachment case out of hand.

Persuading other senators to vote to relax the limits will be difficult, as Mr. Specter acknowledges.

But he said he was optimistic that the White House efforts to persuade reluctant senators to support the pact would succeed.

Senator Dodd said he thought the resignation might persuade several senators who were still undecided to vote against further aid.

That will require, in part, persuading senators that the weapons' condition can be reliably judged by tests on the department's computers instead of explosions.

He has persuaded fellow senators that the switch is a good idea, but he has been unable to win over House members.

The Administration lost today's vote despite weeks of strenuous lobbying to persuade Republican senators to vote with it.