of the identities on the watch list at the time were "associated with FBI cases that did not contain current international terrorism or domestic terrorism designations."

Many of the records were for people who had originally "been appropriately watchlisted but should have been removed from the watchlist after the case had been closed," the audit said.

The American Civil Liberties Union has repeatedly criticized what it calls the "unconstitutionally vague" standards for inclusion on the terror watch list. It repeated a call earlier this month for major reforms of the database.

Edgar and Reardon both acknowledged the list is "not perfect." Edgar added, however, that many of the early problems with the list, which caused some people with the same name as a suspected terrorist to be stopped at airports, havehis essence,” he added. “Not to rush him out of office, unfortunately for political reasons.”

But Lieberman is in the distinct minority in a party newly animated by women and nonwhite candidates and voters, who have provided the ballast for swift decisions.

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The race to judgment marks a remarkable shift for the party. It took decades for Democrats to grapple with President Bill Clinton’s indiscretions, and opinions on the matter still vary. Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) filibustered against the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and was a onetime member of the Ku Klux Klan — two things for which he later apologized — but became the longest-serving senator in history before his death in 2010.

Now, hints of scandal trigger quick demands for resignations across the country. In North Carolina, top