51.   Clinton did not concede defeat on the trade measure, however.

52.   Conceding defeat, a disheartened Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, warned that the legislation would cripple political parties and would ultimately be declared unconstitutional.

53.   Daley cited a number of factors Friday in declining to concede defeat.

54.   Earlier Paul Keating, the Labor prime minister, in a nationally televised speech, conceded defeat and announced he would not continue as leader of his party.

55.   Earlier this week, the trade groups for banks, insurance companies and securities firms that had backed the bill conceded defeat in a joint statement.

56.   Duhalde would not concede defeat early in the evening, although several leaders in his party acknowledged that he had no hope of winning.

57.   Even Democrats who had believed Clinton would not be impeached were close to conceding his defeat.

58.   Even Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has been fighting such campaign finance legislation for more than a decade, conceded defeat.

59.   Even then, DeLay, a former Houston exterminator known for his brass-knuckled political skills, did not concede defeat.

60.   Eventually, he conceded defeat.