The Clintons Then And Now

In 1992, then-Governor and Mrs. Clinton sat down for an unprecedentedly personal interview which aired on CBS News 60 Minutes. Only a fraction of that interview was broadcast, and now, with the controversy surrounding the White House, much of it is still relevant.

The interview remains, six years later, the most extensive and candid that the Clinton have ever given. They spoke then of Gennifer Flowers, privacy and the press, and their own marriage.

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But the Clintons intimated that whatever was wrong with their marriage had been fixed. "We've had problems," said Mrs. Clinton, "We've had difficulties in the past. And I agree with Bill that we think that's between us. That we don't owe anyone else besides each other the honesty that we've tried to bring as we've worked these problems out."

The Clintons did not define what their problems were. But Governor Clinton did not deny extramarital affairs, and he addressed what was then called the "character issue."

"The whole issue here, do I have respect for women generally? No one who knows my wife, the mother who raised me, the women I've empowered in state government, the work I've done for mothers, and especially working mothers trying to raise their children, doubts that I respect women."

Clinton defined "character" as the continuing struggle for integrity, but Hillary objected to the public's narrow definition of the word. "If character only revolved around one question, which is what you're asking and the press, that's a shame, you know, because there are a lot of other questions that are, if not more important, certainly equally important.

"You know, there are ten commandments, not one. And one of them is, 'thou shalt not bear false witness against they neighbor.'"

In 1992, Mrs. Clinton seemed to be referring to Gennifer Flowers. Today, it could easily be directed at Monica Lewinsky.

Written by Steve Kroft, CBS News 60 Minutes Co-Editor