'Comeback Kid' Returns To N.H.
On Thursday, President Clinton began his first political trip since the impeachment. It was to New Hampshire, where his second-place primary finish seven years ago to the day was his first major comeback, CBS White House Correspondent Bill Plante reports.
The reason for the trip was to raise money for the Democratic Party and to promote Mr. Clinton's post-impeachment agenda. The timing and place were only a coincidence, said a White House spokesman.
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He said, however, that the trip might hold some nostalgia for Mr. Clinton.
"I think there is something special about New Hampshire for the president," said spokesman Joe Lockhart.
Seven years ago, Bill Clinton finished second to Paul Tsongas after questions about his draft record and Jennifer Flowers' charges of an affair.
"This has been a tough campaign," Mr. Clinton said at the time. "But at least I have proved one thing -- I can take a punch."
He spun second place into a slogan that served him well for the rest of the campaign. Mr.Clinton billed himself as the "Comeback Kid."
As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. So it's hard not to see this as the "Comeback Kid" proving he's done it again.
CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Scott Pelley reports that Mr. Clinton has emerged as strong a campaigner as he ever was, leaving Republicans in amazement.
"He always wins. He's the best politician I've ever seen, probably the best politician in American history," said New Hampshire Sen. Robert Smith, a conservative Republican who has opposed Mr. Clinton at every turn and is now seeking the GOP presidential nomination.
Mr. Clinton believes the 2000 election may help him write history. For the Democratic Party, this is a two-year campaign to win the House of Representatives and the White House.
For the president, it is one last shot at a final comeback.