February 23, 2001 Single-Page Format
THE DEMOCRATS
Clintons Find Their Support Buckling From Weight of New Woes
By RICHARD L. BERKE
Even the most devoted and vociferous backers of Bill and Hillary Clinton are now refusing to defend their messy exit from the White House and some are openly criticizing their conduct. Many of them said yesterday that the disclosure that Mrs. Clinton's brother Hugh Rodham received nearly $400,000 for helping secure a presidential pardon and a commutation of sentence was the last straw.
Democrats say they fear that the Clintons' persistent troubles not only leave the party with a gaping leadership vacuum, but also with unwanted attention on a former president who is trying to salvage his damaged reputation and a new senator from New York who is trying to find her footing.
James Carville, who for years was perhaps Mr. Clinton's most energetic defender, refused to rise to his defense in an interview yesterday. And, after saying "it's not my nature to jump on a guy when he's down like this," Mr. Carville came close to doing just that.
"He should have been more suspecting of peoples' motives in these things," he said. "I can't say these are illegitimate questions being brought up, because they are legitimate."
Speaking of Mrs. Clinton, he said the publicity around the Clintons' controversial departure from the White House "certainly made it difficult for her to get started on the right foot."
Behind the scenes, Al Gore has joined the chorus as well. People close to the former vice president, who has exchanged tense words with Mr. Clinton about how the presidential campaign was waged, said that Mr. Gore was unnerved by Mr. Clinton's conduct in his final days in office.
"He's not angry — he's more shocked," said one person who spoke to Mr. Gore recently. "He is disappointed. He does still care about the president in some ways. But it's certainly not anger. The harm of Clinton's actions to him has been done."
The anger at Mr. Clinton is particularly striking, given that barely two months ago Democrats around the country had all but turned on Mr. Gore and expressed high hopes that both Clintons would lead their party back to the control of Congress and the White House. Some even talked about Mrs. Clinton's prospects as a presidential candidate in 2004.
Several other of Mr. Clinton's most stalwart defenders expressed concern and bewilderment over his actions. Even Terry McAuliffe, the Democratic Party chairman, who calls Mr. Clinton his best friend, has found it difficult to defend him.
After the payments to Mr. Rodham were disclosed on Wednesday, Mr. McAuliffe condemned Mr. Rodham's actions as "absolutely wrong." Mr. Rodham returned the payments on Wednesday.
And yesterday, in an interview, Mr. McAuliffe seemed to want to change the subject when asked about the pardons, which included that of Marc Rich, the fugitive financier.
"I've publicly said the Rich pardon was a mistake," Mr. McAuliffe said. "If I were president I wouldn't have done it. All these incidents are unfortunate, frustrating and distracting, but ultimately they will run their course."
Asked why even Mr. Clinton's friends were so critical, Mr. McAuliffe said, "I'm not focusing on the negative."
At a news conference yesterday, Mrs. Clinton, struggling to overcome what she acknowledged was an calamitous Senate debut, did not defend her husband and, in fact, put the burden on him by telling reporters to direct their questions to him or his staff.
Indeed, some Democrats said they were particularly worried that Mrs. Clinton would be tarnished even if she was, as she asserted, ignorant of her brother's efforts related to the pardon and commutation. For now, any talk about her presidential prospects has ground to a halt.
"If this hurts anyone, it hurts Hillary much more," said an official at the Democratic National Committee. "She's been able to separate herself from Clinton. But this reminds people that she is with him — and it's her brother that did it."
Mr. Carville said he feels sorry that Mrs. Clinton once again has to deal with messes created by the two most important men in her life. "It's a horrible personal thing," he said. "You can pick your friends. But you can't pick your relatives."
Some of Mrs. Clinton's detractors in the party expressed quiet glee over her predicament, saying they never thought she deserved to be considered a formidable prospect for the White House in 2004.
One strategist who is close to both Clintons said, "A combination of events and circumstances has transpired that has effectively disabled Hillary Clinton from having an effective launch of her Senate career on the terms she had hoped for."
But the strategist was far from willing to pronounce Mrs. Clinton a doomed politician. "She was elected to the one office in the country with the longest term," he said, "and she has got an enormous amount of time to recover from her very wobbly start."
Indeed, some of the Clintons' friends cited their history of rebounding from seeming catastrophe, particularly the former president.
For all the concern among Democratic operatives, Mrs. Clinton has no reason to panic in terms of her public support, at least not yet. A Gallup poll conducted Feb. 19 to 21 and released yesterday found that Mrs. Clinton had a favorable rating of 49 percent nationwide and 44 percent unfavorable. That reflects a slight decline from her high ratings after her election but not a significant slide. The findings in recent statewide polls in New York are similar.
Polls also show that Mr. Clinton squandered his impressive poll ratings from his last days in office and has been slightly tarnished but not hugely damaged among the public.
Beyond that, many of Mr. Clinton's past defenders are saying that the former president did not heed their advice, before he left the White House, to resist the limelight for several months.
"My advice to Clinton was, `You should go away from six to nine months, then you will be the most sought-after person,' " said one confidant of Mr. Clinton. "It's a pity because he keeps blowing it."
Earlier this week, former President Jimmy Carter ended his reluctance about commenting on Mr. Clinton and said of the pardons, "In my opinion, it was disgraceful." Many Clinton backers who were interviewed criticized his decision to defend his pardon of Mr. Rich in an Op- Ed article in The New York Times.
Art Torres, the chairman of the California Democrat Party, said, "It's bad form to do an Op-Ed piece. I just don't think it's appropriate."
In an interview in December, Mr. Torres said the party would look to the Clintons as important Democratic leaders. But yesterday, he was far less enthusiastic. "I don't think a role is given to people," he said. "They have to earn it. At this point there's a concern on some peoples' parts."
Just weeks ago some Democrats insisted that the latest Clinton controversy would be only of fleeting interest. Now, as one Clinton loyalist put it, the enduring question is, "Will it ever end?"
CARVILLE JUMPS SHIP OVER PARDON MESS: "I can't say these are illegitimate questions being brought up because they are
legitimate," he tells Friday's NYT... MORE... Behind the scenes, Al Gore has joined the chorus as well. Gore unnerved by
Mr. Clinton's conduct in his final days in office...
-- Ain't Gonna Happen (Not Here Not@ever.com), February 23, 2001