The open book

Bill: I did it 'because I could'
Admits 'I lied to everybody'
Had counseling 'a whole day a week every week for a year'

BY JAMES ENDRST
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER


Former President Clinton laughs Monday as President Bush unveils his official portrait at the White House.

Former President Bill Clinton reveals his marriage was on life support for a year after he came clean about his dirty dalliance with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Hillary Clinton needed time to decide whether she wanted a divorce, the 42nd President tells CBS' "60 Minutes" in a shockingly candid interview.

"We'd take a day a week, and we did - a whole day a week every week for a year, maybe a little more - and did counseling," Bill Clinton tells Dan Rather in the hour-long sitdown timed to the release next week of his memoir, "My Life."

And daughter Chelsea, who was feeling increasingly alienated, joined in the shrink sessions, the former President added.

"We did it together. We did it individually," said Clinton, admitting he was "in the doghouse" for a long time. "We did family work."

Clinton also confesses he has no rational explanation for cheating on his wife and risking his legacy as President. "I did something for the worst possible reason. Just because I could," he says. "That's just about the most morally indefensible reason anybody could have for doing anything."

Clinton - embarking on a national tour to promote his long-awaited life story, which is already a best seller via advance sales - does not shy away from the Lewinsky affair in his book, either, said Rather, one of the few to have read the tome.

"I lied to everybody," Clinton admits at one point.

Although Rather said there was nothing in the massive book that could be called "a bulletin from Mars," Clinton told the Daily News yesterday readers should find a few surprises. "I hope so," he said. "Otherwise, I made a big mistake writing 950 pages."

Rather told The News he admires that Clinton avoids the common trap of "trying to get even" with his enemies - with one exception.

The President takes aim at special prosecutor Kenneth Starr, whose many investigations into the former First Couple led to Clinton's impeachment for lying under oath about his clandestine coupling.

Starr conducted himself in an "unethical if not illegal" manner, Clinton insists, and the former President defiantly calls his fight against impeachment a "badge of honor."

"I didn't quit, I never thought of resigning and I stood up to it and beat it back," Clinton says.

"The whole battle was a badge of honor," he continues. "I don't see it as a stain, because it was illegitimate ... an abuse of power."

On other issues:

Clinton calls charges his administration had terror mastermind Osama Bin Laden in its grasp but let him go long before 9/11 absolute "bull."

He avoids any direct comment about his former vice president, Al Gore, because, Rather said, Clinton didn't want to be seen as "piling on."

Clinton generally supports President Bush's decision to take out Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. "People will be surprised at how supportive he is," said Rather, "considering he's a Democratic former President."

Clinton views his stewardship of the American economy as his greatest accomplishment. "I kept score, how many people's lives were better off," Clinton said. "I think the fact that we were able to have 22 million jobs and record homeownership and lower interest rates ... people actually had the ability to do more things than ever before."

There were many days he counts as his best - but one in particular stands out: The day the U.S. Army helped the people of Kosovo rid the world of Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic.
"The day that Kosovar war ended and I knew Milosevic's days were numbered was a great day," Clinton said. "I had a lot of great days."

did it with the devil in a blue dress, just because he could - lied to the American people, just because he could . . . .

Clinton is not a failed president, only an insignificant one. In his interview with Rather to plug My Life, he claims two great accomplishments. One is "the creation of 22 million jobs." The other is the toppling of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the Balkan war. So Clinton takes credit, above all, for high job growth and a positive outcome in a relatively minor foreign policy crisis. One qualification: On jobs, while Clinton deserves credit, presidents merely make jobs a bit easier or harder for the economy to create. They don't create jobs themselves, except by expanding government. In sum, Clinton's twin achievements match Coolidge's almost exactly. The highlights of Coolidge's term were a flourishing economy and triumph in three minor foreign ventures.

Clinton had three major successes in Congress during his eight years in office, but it's no surprise he downplays them. They reflect his weakness as a president. The first was passage of the North American
Free Trade Agreement in 1993. This measure was proposed by President Reagan, negotiated and signed by the first President Bush, and ratified with Republican votes as congressional Democrats abandoned Clinton in droves. The second was welfare reform that reduced the rolls dramatically. He signed this Republican bill reluctantly in 1996 only after his political adviser, Dick Morris, told him his reelection would be jeopardized if he didn't. The third Clinton success was the arrival of a balanced budget, again a goal Clinton had warily endorsed but not expected to achieve so soon.

Now consider these achievements for a moment. Do they remind you of anyone's agenda? The answer is Reagan's. All three were longstanding aims of Reagan, not of Clinton or Democrats. Yes, Clinton campaigned in 1992 on changing the welfare system "as we know it." But the bill he was forced to sign cut far more deeply into welfare rolls than Clinton wanted and was fiercely opposed by liberal Democrats. The point is that the Clinton presidency was, in effect, an extension of the Reagan presidency, though Clinton would be loath to admit this. Completing the Reagan agenda was not his intention.