By Munir K. Nasser
Chief Correspondent, Washington, DC
Albawaba.com
US President Bill Clinton is very positive about his future role in the US and the world. He envisions playing a high-profile role in world diplomacy, with many years of intensive experience in bringing peace to Northern Ireland, former Yugoslavia, and the Middle East, according to recent interviews with the press.
However, Clinton said to a group of his supporters last week that he “still has seven more weeks to squawk” before his terms ends in January.
Many people wonder what will happen to the retired President at age 54, and whether he would live in seclusion like many presidents before him. Based on media surveys and newspaper analysis, Clinton's post-White House plans are so ambitious that they may eclipse his first act as President. He is expected to dwarf former President Jimmy Carter, and even Richard Nixon as first statesman of the world.
Many of his friends and supporters are helping him raise more than $150 million to fund an ambitious presidential library and other elements of the future plans. At the young age of 54, Clinton is expected by many analysts to be a major player on the world stage, despite his critics. They believe he is well respected worldwide as any leader.
Clinton’s big plans for his future are not, however, the only things on his mind in the last days of his presidency. He is still driving to get more done before he surrenders power. He's involved in planning his presidential library in Little Rock, Arkansas, right down to the sizes and shapes of rooms, although he's threatened to relocate the facility if the state disbars him from practicing law for his role in the Monica Lewinsky affair. And as always, he's obsessed with politics--including Gore's bid to succeed him and, most of all, with his wife's Senate race.
Immediately after leaving office, his advisers expect that he would keep a low profile for a while. Then he would look for an intensive schedule of paid speaking engagements. The Clintons will leave the White House in debt, with as much as $9 million in unpaid legal fees alone as a result of the Lewinsky and Whitewater investigations. Only the $100,000 or more per appearance that a former president can charge, in addition to an advance of as much as $10 million for his memoirs, can erase those debts and put Clinton on the strong financial footing necessary for his return to center stage in world politics.
The Clinton Center, which will house the largest collection of presidential papers ever, will provide the launching pad for his public agenda. It will house a research institute that planners see as a moderate counterpart to the Hoover Institute at Stanford, which provides intellectual ammunition for conservatives. Through a variety of educational programs, the center also aims at training cadres of future Clintons. The complex will even include a penthouse apartment for the Clintons, to supplement the condo they already own in Arkansas.
But what associates think will set Clinton's library apart is the way he will use it as a platform for influencing public debate. With the former president as a draw, for instance, the Clinton Center hopes to convene conferences of world leaders as a way of amplifying his voice.
Clinton’s passion for politics was strongly displayed in the New York Senate race, where he pushed hard for his wife to run. Over the course of her campaign, he never stopped advocating and advising. But mostly he's remained in the background; because his political experience told him voters would only accept her if she found her own way.
Many observers believe Hillary’s campaign has also been about repairing the family name. They say in some sense, even though he's not on the ballot, there's a lot of him invested in this. “Ultimately," says Leon E. Panetta, former Clinton White House chief of staff, "I would not be surprised if he gets back into politics--runs for the Senate from Arkansas or takes some senior foreign policy post. I cannot see him staying out of the game and becoming the elderly statesman. That's not his nature,” he told the Los Angeles Times.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
