Sunday April 29 8:37 AM ET
Clinton's First 100 Days Out of Office Memorable

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Traditionally, 100 days into the administration of a new president is a time for observers and historians to weigh in with assessments of his performance.

This time around, Bill Clinton's first 100 days out of the White House has proven nearly as memorable as his successor's arrival, they say.

``There's no question. It's been a disaster,'' said Stephen Hess, a presidential scholar at the Broodings Institution in Washington. ``There's been nothing quite like it in terms of 100 days.''

An outgoing president typically leaves Washington and quietly finds another path, whether it's charity work, book writing or even golf, experts say.

``Partly that's because they're old and partly because they have enough sensitivity to say that Jan. 20 is the new person's day,'' Hess said. ``This ex-president from Day One didn't play by those rules.''

Before retiring, Clinton issued a round of pardons that included financier Mark Rich, who fled the United States in 1983 under indictment for tax evasion and racketeering. He also pardoned four Hasidic Jews, whose New York town turned out solidly for Hillary Rodham Clinton (news - web sites)'s U.S. Senate bid.

U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White is investigating several of the pardons, and, in the fallout, a number of invitations for Clinton to make high-paying appearances were withdrawn.

Then there was an uproar over the White House furnishings that Clinton and his wife moved to their house in suburban Chappaqua, New York.

Topping it off, Clinton's first choice of office space in Manhattan would have cost taxpayers nearly $800,000 a year. He dropped the idea and found more modest space in Harlem.

Pardon Fallout Significant

In more recent days the dust has settled and the former president has become a familiar sight in suburban Chappaqua in between his trips overseas.

But the fallout from his first 100 days of retirement is significant, said Republican strategist Joseph Mercurio.

The Clintons could have been far more influential in the Democratic Party but for the controversial pardons, he said.

Mrs. Clinton could have exercised her clout in the state party, helping influence the New York City mayoral race this year and the gubernatorial race next year, while he should be holding court in the Democratic National Committee (news - web sites), he said.

``They have absolutely no effect. The pardon stuff caused them to lose a major opportunity,'' he said. ``They're not in play in major public policy questions, which I think they should have been. And it's not just affecting him. It's affecting (former Vice President Al) Gore.''

While the heart of the trouble is the poor judgement behind the Rich pardon, Clinton's critics have made much of his error, said New York magazine political columnist Michael Tomasky.

They could have let it pass or done a serious investigation, he said.

``They chose another course which was to exploit it so he couldn't speak as a sort of shadow president, which I think he had intentions of doing,'' Tomasky said. ``And it worked.''

The events of the last 100 days also seem to have put to rest the tantalizing rumor that Clinton could run for mayor of New York City when Rudolph Giuliani leaves this year.

Never say never, Tomasky joked. ``This is a town where he probably could still win,'' he said.

Hess, the presidential scholar, said he thinks the last 100 days will have little impact on Clinton's legacy.

``The legacy starts on the day he's elected and ends on the day he leaves office. Everything else is relatively irrelevant,'' Hess said. ``When you sit down and write in the Bill Clinton entry in Encyclopedia Britannica, you're going to be writing about everything from Jan. 20, 1993, to Jan. 20, 2001.''

Maybe, maybe not, said Mercurio.

``The pardon stuff, that will certainly be remembered historically,'' he said. ``Perhaps not as big as Monica Lewinsky's paragraph, but it'll always be around.''

-- Anonymous, April 29, 2001