"Cleared" and "acquitted" are not the same thing...

There was a headline on the New England Cable News morning news this morning - "Clemens Cleared."

But he wasn't.  He was acquitted, which is not at all the same thing.  For him to have been convicted (in his perjury trial), the government would have had to prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  One could sit on a jury, believe him to be guilty, and still find enough reasonable doubt to acquit. 

But I doubt that the verdict will change a single person's opinion over whether or not he ever used performance enhancing substances or lied about it.  If you believed it yesterday, you probably believe it today.,,