Torricelli said that the four new Democratic senators--himself, Max Cleland of Georgia, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana--held regular meetings on the issue. All had said in the past that they favored the balanced-budget amendment. But it was understood that two of them had to vote "no" to ensure its defeat. Cleland was the first to announce his support for the amendment. He did this some time ago. Last week, Johnson announced that he would vote against the amendment. Tuesday, after having dined with Torricelli the previous night, Landrieu announced that she, too, would vote for the amendment. That left Torricelli in the driver's seat, where he remained for exactly one full news cycle before announcing his decision to vote the amendment down. "Had I not done this, I believe there were other votes available," Torricelli said.