“No，” Clinton replied. “All I know is that I work hard at this job.”
I was in the White House one day in 1993 because President Clinton was reading a book I had written about President John F. Kennedy， the man he says inspiredinspired adj.得到灵感的， 有灵感的， 权威人士(或官方)授意的 his life in politics.
“不，”克林顿答道，“我所知道的就是努力干我的工作。”
白宫里的克林顿
1993年的一天我来到白宫，因为克林顿总统在读我写的一本关于约翰.F.肯尼迪的书，他说肯尼迪对他的政治生涯起了鼓舞作用。
We chattedchat v.聊天n.聊天 for a few minutes， the President showing me from which direction the British had come when hey set fire to the White House in 1814.
Soon， my scheduled tenminute dropby had stretched into lunch and more than two hours of conversation. The talk， most of it by him， was interrupted only by three polite attempts to break it up by one of his assistants， George Stephanopoulos， whispering that Robert Dole was on the telephone hoping to talk about Haiti and application of the War Power Act.
The President ignored them. On the subject of JeanBertrand Aristides the man U.S troops were poisedpoise n.v.平衡， 均衡， 姿势， 镇静， 砝码 to forcibly reinstate as president of Haiti， Clinton met my questions about his legitimacy and stability with a defining politicians answer： “I know what they say about him， but be got 67 percent of the vote.” Votes are the moral imperative in his business.
我们聊了几分钟，总统指给我看英国人在1814年时从白宫哪个方向放的火。
很快，原本计划10分钟的拜访一直延续到午餐时间，谈话进行了2个多小时。交谈中主要是他在侃侃而谈，其间只被他的助手，乔治·斯蒂芬尼普勒斯礼节性地打断了三次，低声说罗伯特·多尔来电话想谈谈有关海地及实施作战权力法案的事情。
总统未去顾及那些。关于让·伯特兰·亚里斯泰迪斯的问题，美国军方打算强行恢复他海地总统的职位，克林顿以政治家的明确态度回答了我关于他复职的合法性和安定性的问题：“我知道他们对他的看法是怎样的，可他有百分之六十七的选票。”选票在他的事业中在道义上是绝对必要的。
A year later， when I came to the White House for an interview on October 18， 1994， it was different. Clinton had given himself over to handlershandlers n.操作者，陶器工人，经理人. Assistants Stephanopoulos and Mark Gearan were sitting on a couch in the Oval Office， placed so that he could see them but I could not.
A couple of times， when I bent over my notes， Clinton looked over to them， apparently seeking acknowledgment that he was sticking to his scriptscript n.手稿， 手迹， 剧本， 考生的笔试卷， 原本.
After a halfhour or so， Chief of Staff Leon Panetta came in， an obvious signalsignal n.信号adj.信号的v.发信号 that it was time to end. I was asking， “ Why do so many people dislike you so much？”
“The radical right and the Congressional Republicans have demonizeddemonize vt.使成为魔鬼 me，” he answered. Then he changed direction.
一年后，1994年10月18日当我来白宫接受会见时情况就不同了。克林顿好像自己不再作主了。助手斯蒂芬尼普勒斯和马克·奇兰坐在椭圆形办公室的长沙发上，正好是他能看得到而我却看不到的位置。
有好几次，当我俯身记录时，克林顿就望望他们，很显然他是在确认他的讲话是否与稿子的内容一致。
大约过了半个小时后，参谋长莱昂·佩尼塔走进来，这是个明显的该结束谈话的暗示。我问道，“为什么有那么多人如此不喜欢你？”
“激进的右派和国会共和党人把我丑化了，”他答道。接着他话锋一转。
“ You know the story about the guy who falls off the mountain， down into a canyon to certain death， and he sees the little twig， grabs it. And the roots start coming out？ He looks down. Hundreds of feet below， and he says：‘God， why me？ Why me？’And this thunderous voice comes out of the heavens and says： ‘Son， theres just something about you I dont like！’”
I asked， “Do you know what that something is？”
“No，” Clinton replied. “All I know is that I work hard at this job.”
A lot of people hated President Roosevelt and his wife， many for the very good reason that he was a great man， changing the assumptions and rules of being American. He changed lives.
Many Americans hate President Clinton and his wife， too， for reasons that are much less clear. He has accomplishedaccomplish vt.完成， 达到， 实现 more than a few things， but none of them have been lifechanging for great numbers.
“你是否知道关于一个人跌落山崖的故事，落入峡谷行将就毙，他看到一截小树枝，抓住了它，而树根开始脱落？他看到下面是万丈深渊，就说道：‘上帝，为什么是我？为什么是我？’上苍传来轰鸣的声音说：‘孩子，因为你有些事我不喜欢！’”
我问道：“你知道有些事是指什么吗？”
“不，”克林顿答道，“我所知道的就是努力干我的工作。”
许多人讨厌罗斯福总统及他的夫人，其绝妙的理由是他是个伟人，改变了美国人的一些臆断与规则。他改变了生活。
很多美国人因为一些莫明其妙的理由而讨厌克林顿总统及夫人。他完成了很多事情，可没有哪件事改变了大多数美国人的生活。
There is obviously widespread mistrust， which seems to begin with Clintons manipulationmanipulation n.处理， 操作， 操纵， 被操纵 of whole truth. Mainly， though， millions of Americans hate Clinton not because of great events of his Presidency， but because of the 1960s—the aniauthoritarianism， the attacks on great institutions from government to religion， the overthrow of patriotismpatriotism n.爱国心， 爱国精神 and traditional American history.
But Clinton is a professional—the most gifted politician of his generation， selfcreated and almost Roosevelt—like in his political skills. He will do whatever he has to do in the next two years to survive—and very possibly win reelection.
In fact， Clinton has already found the appropriate maxim. Paraphrasing Lincoln， he told a reporter， “You may take another time， where Lincoln said， ‘I am controlled by events. My policy is to have no policy.’”
这种显而易见的广泛的不信任，似乎源自克林顿对事实真相的操纵。然而，成百上千万的人讨厌克林顿主要不是因为他总统任期内所发生的一些大事，而是因为60年代发生的一些事件——反独裁主义，未成熟的变革，对从政府到宗教主要机构的抨击，对爱国主义和传统美国历史的摒弃。
但克林顿是个职业的——他这一代人中最有天赋的政治家，在政治手腕上几乎如罗斯福那样有独创性。他会在后两年里竭尽全力站稳脚跟，并很有可能连任。
实际上，克林顿已找到适合自己的行为准则。他对一位记者解释林肯的话说：“记得有一次，林肯说：‘我被重大事件所左右。我的政策就是没有政策。’”
他是美国第42任总统。曾担任教师、律师、阿肯色州州司法部长、阿肯色州州长。在他担任总统期间，美国经济持续增长，失业率、犯罪率都降至30年来最低点，高科技产业迅速发展。他签署了《北美自由贸易协定》，促进了全球自由贸易。
