Remember when we were told Clinton was drowning in legal debt?

Newsweek: Citizen Clinton Up Close

The man’s still a radioactive isotope for millions, so here’s a little speculative math to drive the Clinton haters nuts: overseas gigs pull in $200,000 to $300,000 a pop (far short of the $2 million Ronald Reagan received for a visit to Japan in 1989, but Reagan rarely traveled); American conferences and banquets yield at least $125,000, and bookings continue to be strong for the foreseeable future. Clinton’s Harlem staff estimates that 40 percent of his speeches are for pay, which would put Clinton’s annual speaking income at somewhere between $10 million and $15 million, all but erasing his roughly $5 million in legal bills. With his $12 million book deal, the largest in world history, the only impeached president of the 20th century will gross about $40 million in his first couple of years out of office.

And it keeps getting better....

... He comforts himself that he had his shot during an important transitional time in world history, served longer than any Democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and amassed plenty of accomplishments that will stand up to historical scrutiny, if only people could be persuaded to focus on them.

September 11 rendered that even harder. After the attacks, he set about doing something positive—working with Bob Dole to raise $100 million to help put the children of victims through college. But Clinton made no secret of his frustration over missing the biggest presidential leadership challenge of his generation. “It was painful for him,” says one person who saw him last fall. “He has prepared all of his life for something truly big like this.” Now the ex-president is contesting even that, insisting that the war on terrorism, while important, “is not like World War II at all” and will eventually be seen in the context not of the Bush presidency but of Clinton’s global achievements.

Thus, Bush's war on terrorism is rendered irrelevant in Clinton's view of future history. Clinton will shine like a beacon of rationality, while Bush's actions will fade. Hmmm....

And then there's the Newsweek interview....

Q. If you had to do it all over again, would you pardon Marc Rich?

A. Probably not, just for the politics. It was terrible politics. It wasn’t worth the damage to my reputation. ...

Thus, while he goes on to list what may be factual reasons for the pardon, the #1 reason not to do it is political, his own reputation. Lovely friend. Reminds me that it is always all about Clinton, his personal gains and losses, and nevermind anyone or anything else. Also reminds me again (and again) how embarassed I am to have voted for the bobo in 1992....