The Return Of The Comeback Kid

By David Paul Kuhn,
CBSNews.com Chief Political Writer

Legacy is on Bill Clinton's mind.

When former President Clinton releases his highly anticipated memoir on June 22, he will visit ten cities in the first two weeks alone.

Already topping best-seller lists from pre-orders, those close to Mr. Clinton say his memoir will shine such a wide media spotlight that it will cover Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry. Mr. Clinton will make sure of it, they insist.

Monday, President Bush, of all people, gave his predecessor a little help. In a White House ceremony for the unveiling of Mr. Clinton's official presidential portrait, an unexpectedly chummy Mr. Bush said that his onetime political rival could "always see a better day ahead." Mr. Bush added that the former president was "a man of enthusiasm and warmth" with a "forward-looking spirit."

What a difference four years makes.

In August 2000, Mr. Bush, speaking before the packed Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, called the Clinton administration one of "so much promise, to no great purpose." In a not-so-subtle attack on Mr. Clinton's philandering, Mr. Bush said that as president he would "swear to not only uphold the laws of our land" but also "swear to uphold the honor and dignity" of the office.

A presidential administration is an eternity in political years. Following Mr. Bush, Mr. Clinton took the podium, his portrait behind him – with those deep, sentimental blue eyes captured sharply – and in a sign of gratitude, thanked the current president for his kind comments.

"The president, by his generous words to Hillary and me today, has proved once again that, in the end, we are held together by this grand system of ours that permits us to debate and struggle and fight for what we believe is right," Mr. Clinton said, his drawl slightly slower, akin to when he first took office in 1992.

Twelve years later, a little grayer, with bags under his eyes, Mr. Clinton begins his campaign to reframe his presidential legacy with the release of his 957-page memoir, "My Life," published by Alfred A. Knopf.

Next Monday night, a day before the book's official release, the memoir will be celebrated with a book party (verging on gala) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Mr. Clinton received an advance exceeding $10 million to write his autobiography. Over 1,000 review copies have been requested by journalists. Soon Mr. Clinton will be promoting the book in cities nationwide.

Bill Clinton is back.

No doubt, when the first copies of the book are picked up at local bookstores, Americans will scan the index for the name "Lewinsky," seeking out the sadly infamous intern whose sexual exploits, with Mr. Clinton, gave her an unwanted legacy of her own.

The affair led to Mr. Clinton's impeachment and soiled his legacy so much that when his vice president, Al Gore, ran for office in 2000, Mr. Clinton was not called upon to stump publicly for him, to the former president's chagrin.

But that was then. When the Democrats gather in late July for their national convention in Boston, Mr. Clinton will ring in the opening night with what will, no doubt, be a stirring address in support of Kerry.

"The timing is very propitious for the [Kerry] campaign," said Sidney Blumenthal, a former senior adviser to President Clinton. "It falls at a very good moment before the convention activities begin."

Mr. Bush's kind words to Mr. Clinton on Monday could have served as a political preemptive strike, a shot of kindness to disarm the criticism to come. Yet Mr. Clinton has also been sensitive as of late.

This month, at a booksellers' convention in Chicago, he restrained himself before the 2,000 people in attendance. The only slightly contentious moment of his speech came when Mr. Clinton said, "Politics is not religion, and we should govern on the basis of evidence, not theology." Following the July convention, Mr. Clinton will likely go from kind to critical when it comes to Mr. Bush.

"Clinton and Kerry have the same goal and both of them will be practical and work together," said former Clinton pollster Doug Schoen, who attended Monday's White House ceremony. "Clinton will talk about his record and Kerry will talk about building on Clinton's legacy.

"I don't think Kerry will make the mistake Al Gore made," Schoen added. "And in fact, Kerry will benefit from the legacy that Clinton has."

With an election year in full force, President Bush knows his legacy is even more pertinent to him, for now, than Mr. Clinton's.

Incumbents are reelected based on how the country views their first four years. By any measure, President Bush has a hard fight ahead.

Mr. Clinton's memoir will give his words more weight, and the four years since he was in office will give him the beginnings of the rose-colored glasses that former presidents are seen through, as last week's mourning of Ronald Reagan illustrated. Unlike Gore's criticism of Mr. Bush, Mr. Clinton's comments will be defter and potentially more damaging.

"The fact that Clinton is out there helps us remember the Reagan question, 'Are you better off now than you were four years ago,'" said Blumenthal, who remains in close contact with his former boss. Blumenthal added that following the convention, Mr. Clinton will do "whatever Kerry asks him to do, I'm sure."

"This event will be part of a long campaign year and be an event that is beneficial to the Kerry candidacy because it will draw a comparison, not between Clinton and Kerry," Blumenthal continued. "The comparison will be with the state of the union and what Bush has done with it."
By David Paul Kuhn