let's bring back congressional reporter for "politico." clarence page columnist for "the chicago tribune." one vote does make a difference, one guy, one person. >> it also really shows the power of this block of swing votes in this senate, in a 51-49 chamber, jeff flake was able to get together, and we have an indication they were talking about this last night to get this. >> about the fbi report. >> what was the smarts about him saying i'll vote the -- out of committee. he didn't become a nay vote. he became an affirmative demand vote. >> clarence. >> whenever you've got a close vote congress like this one, it empowers the middle, and he's taking advantage of that now, and it also shows you what a senator can do who's not planning to run again. and he's taking advantage of that. >> he's not worried about the nine out of ten republican voters who backed trump on every single thing. that's why the other ones are hog tied. >> it is a big relief, but i was struck by, you know, a profile