U.S.

Clinton Rides Political High

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

April 5, 1998 / 8:06 PM EDT / CBS

With his Africa trip behind him, President Clinton will try to maximize any political advantage gained after the dismissal of the Paula Jones case by focusing on issues closer to home.

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He will issue an executive order in the Rose Garden banning the import of certain kinds of popular semiautomatic assault weapons on Monday. Later in the week, he'll head out of Washington where he will plug for social security reform at a conference in Kansas City. He will also travel to Chicago, where the issue will be schools.

But Mr. Clinton's troubles are far from over. There's still the matter of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's investigation. There's a parade of witnesses into the federal courthouse in Washington who are testifying before the Starr grand jury.

And there's still the possibility of an appeal by Jones. "We're leaning more toward an appeal," said Susan Carpenter McMillan, Jones' spokesperson. "She's come this far. You know, it would almost be silly not to. But of course we don't know,"

For the first time, Mr. Clinton is publicly reflecting on his legal victory, telling Time magazine:

"If I were just a private citizen, Joe Six-Pack, I would have mixed feelings about not getting the chance to disprove these allegations in court," the president told Time. "But I don't have mixed feelings as president, because having the case dismissed and putting this behind us is plainly in the best interest of the country."