Breakdown on the Road to History

Bill Clinton thought 1998 would be the year to cement his place in the big book of Presidents. But now Ken Starr is doing most of the writing

Long ago in a kingdom far, far away--Bill Clinton's White House in the days before the Lewinsky mess--a few of the President's advisers liked to play a little game. They would sort Clinton's best deeds and worst misdeeds into what they called "legacy items," then try to project how history would rank each entry. Balancing the budget, presiding over the economic boom, reforming welfare, cutting crime, dragging his party to the center and preparing his people for the new century--these were seen as Clinton's key legacy items. And what of his scandal sheet, which even then was voluminous? "Our hope is...

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