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OpinionJune 2, 2000

No other president in recent history has been so engrossed in his official legacy as Bill Clinton. And newspaper columnists and TV talking heads have never been so swept up in analyzing what that legacy will be. As a result, President Clinton's trip this week to foreign destinations has given the columnists and commentators plenty to talk about. ...

No other president in recent history has been so engrossed in his official legacy as Bill Clinton. And newspaper columnists and TV talking heads have never been so swept up in analyzing what that legacy will be.

As a result, President Clinton's trip this week to foreign destinations has given the columnists and commentators plenty to talk about. Is this the president's last effort to leave his mark on foreign policy? How will the history books remember Clinton's handling of foreign affairs. What could the president possibly do in Portugal, Germany or Russia to overcome his lackluster foreign-policy record?

Isn't it about time the pundits stop looking for a legacy and start recognizing the considerable foreign-affairs record of this man called William Jefferson Clinton?

Syndicated columnist David Limbaugh, in his commentary earlier this week, laid out a virtual smorgasbord of Clinton's haphazard involvement in foreign affairs. Taken together, the president's actions amount to a monumental disaster.

That, folks, is Clinton's legacy.

The president has either failed to do what he set out to do or really screwed up things in Somalia, Haiti, Iraq, Sudan, Belgrade, Israel, North Korean, Serbia, the Middle East, the Balkans, Northern Ireland, Taiwan and China.

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So this week, at tremendous taxpayer expense, Mr. Foreign Disaster is taking aim at Portugal, Germany, the European Union and Russia.

Shouldn't NATO be put on red alert or something?

One historian has said Clinton will be remembered for his earnestness, his openness and his powers of persuasion in dealing with world leaders.

Yes, there's little doubt Clinton has shared the pain of premiers, princes and potentates. He has played good old Uncle Bill so often you'd think he spent his youth at summer camp with the top dogs of every international hot spot.

That's another Clinton legacy: The man can schmooze better than any other living person. Indeed, most foreign leaders say they personally like the president. But, they ask, what did he say?

Saddam still runs Iraq like a money factory generating personal wealth. Haiti is still a mess. The Balkans still rely on police-state curfews and U.S. troops. Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestants are still killing each other in the name of God. Russia's vast array of ballistic missiles are still aimed at U.S. targets -- and goodness knows who has the power to press the red button.

Yes, Mr. President, you can take some comfort in knowing that your seven years and four months as leader of the world's superpower have produced quite a legacy. You will probably spend the rest of your life trying to keep that legacy from getting published in any history books.

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