Yet when Senate majority leader Trent Lott set about killing the tobacco bill, Clinton did nothing. Congress then giddily hacked up Clinton's budget priorities, slashing his requests for education, health care, child care and the environment. But he can't dicker and deal because he's on the table too. But with the exception of NATO expansion and the Northern Ireland peace accord, foreign policy gems have been elusive. Despite Clinton's warnings, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thumbs his nose at the peace process and Saddam Hussein continues to harass U.N. arms inspectors in Iraq.
Great Presidents get other people to do great things.
One thing Clinton has been able to get others to do this year is talk. The President sees his year-long national conversation on race as a major legacy item. Clinton loyalists see the program as the final piece in a legacy trifecta. And Clinton has been surefooted on the issue so far. So far so good.