Ann Lewis and Cliff May: Clinton's final days

(CNN) – In his "farewell tour" in Illinois, Michigan and New Hampshire, all pivotal states in his 1992 victory, President Clinton stated that the economic boom of the last decade is due to his approach to social policy.

Ann Lewis is a former Clinton White House counselor. Cliff May is RNC Communications Director.

CNN Moderator: Welcome to Crossfire online, Ann Lewis and Cliff May.

Ann Lewis: Hi, this is Ann Lewis. I'm glad to be here, and I look forward to your questions.

Cliff May: Cyber greetings to you all!

CNN Moderator: President Clinton is a young and vibrant man who says he will miss the work of being president more than anything else. What is he most eager to pursue after leaving office?

Ann Lewis: I know when I have talked to the president, he has talked about his library. He looks forward to getting the library and the Clinton Center up and running. He has joked about being an active member of the Senate Spouses’ Club, and he says he wants to continue to find ways to spend perhaps half his life in public service.

This country has been so good to him. He wants to find ways to continue to serve, and I'd guess that would eventually include international work. There is a real eagerness by leaders and people of other countries to have Bill Clinton stay engaged and work with them.

CNN Moderator: Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford have both said that former presidents as a whole tend to be underutilized elder statesmen. Do you agree? What role should there be for our former presidents?

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Cliff May: I think there's probably some truth to that. My guess is that Bill Clinton will not be satisfied with essentially being a librarian, but I think it'll be difficult for him to find a role in this administration, unless he's willing to extend a hand of cooperation. I think it obviously depends on the ex-president and his talents and temperament and relationship with his successor, as to what kind of role he will play.

Ann Lewis: I think former President Carter, with his humanitarian work at home and abroad, has set a real example.

CNN Moderator: President Clinton has indicated that he intends to be active within the Democratic Party. Will this be good for the Democrats or even better for the Republicans?

Ann Lewis: I know it will be good for Democrats. Bill Clinton has been and continues to be a successful and admired leader for Democrats, because of his policies, his hard work over the past eight years and his commitment to principles which are so important to Democrats. I know people are looking forward to working with him.

As for Republicans, I'm sure Cliff will speak for his party, but I would say I did some work for Hillary Clinton in her Senate campaign -- I do not underestimate the extent to which conservative direct mail tried to use attacks on the Clintons. But I have to say it can boomerang, as we saw in New York.

Cliff May: I think, first of all, it may be a bit awkward for the Democratic Party -- that he appears to want to remain its star and most important voice. We see evidence of that even in terms of his selection of who will head the Democratic National Committee. He hasn't asked Donna Brazile, who worked so ably on the Gore campaign. He hasn't asked Maynard Jackson, former mayor of Atlanta, who's expressed an interest in that position. He has instead chosen his most important fundraiser, and I think there will be problems for the Democratic Party as long as he remains its true chief. In a way, that represents an opportunity for Republicans -- Clinton has divided the nation, and people are very divided in their opinions of him. He is a very polarizing figure.

CNN Moderator: One of our audience members wonders if Bill Clinton will ever consider running for secretary general of the United Nations? Is that a job he would be interested in, and would it be something he would be suited for?

Ann Lewis: I think that is highly unlikely, because it seems to me the structure and institution of the United Nations are pretty fixed, and that Bill Clinton will want to be engaged in international work as he has been. But I don't think it will be on behalf of a large international institution.

Cliff May: I think Ann is right about that -- in regard to the United Nations. There might be a role for him if he chose it, in terms of other international organizations such as UNICEF, but I don't know that he has any inclination in that regard.

Question from chat room: What will President Clinton's role be within Senator Clinton's administration?

Ann Lewis: It was a great treat to watch President Clinton come in and campaign for his wife, to be a strong supporter, to say to people, "She was always there helping me win elections, and now I'm so happy to help her." I know he said at her last swearing in in New York that he was even willing to be a caseworker, but I think they'll find other ways in which he can be helpful.

They have always talked issues and policies through with one another; I'm sure they'll continue to do that. And he would certainly be a very popular representative of the senator in speaking to her constituents around the state.

Cliff May: Hillary Clinton would also be very smart to enlist his services as her campaign manager when she runs for the presidency in 2004.

Ann Lewis: Cliff is a little bit premature on that; Hillary has said she is serving a six-year term as senator.

Cliff May: Bill Clinton said something similar to the people in Arkansas the last time he ran for governor.

CNN Moderator: Many people have commented on Clinton's extraordinary political skills. How can these skills best be utilized to benefit the country?

Ann Lewis: That is the question Bill Clinton is thinking about! Should he spend time with young people, talking with them about government and public service, can he be helpful internationally, as he was for example for Northern Ireland, where his personal engagement made such a powerful difference? What can he do around the issue of race, continuing the dialogue on race, encouraging Americans to work together as one country? That's the agenda that is very much on his mind.

Cliff May: I think he could use his ample political skills to better America. Unfortunately, he has used those skills only to make life better for himself.

Ann Lewis: This is clearly a subject on which Cliff and I disagree. I'm pleased that the American people feel they are better off.

Cliff May: But the American people are of two minds where Bill Clinton is concerned, and have been for some time. Even many of those who give him good job approval numbers disapprove on a personal level -- disapprove on his ethics. And a clear majority are pleased that he is apparently exiting the scene, albeit reluctantly.

Question from chat room: Don't you agree that Clinton will play a dominant role in Washington?

Ann Lewis: I think I would not agree with the word "dominant." We've got Tom Daschle and Dick Gephardt, for example. They are very able and will be speaking for the party as they manage the Democratic legislative program on the Hill. But you're right that Clinton will continue to be a powerful voice and one that Democrats will want to hear from.

Cliff May: Unlike most previous presidents, I suspect that Bill Clinton will continue to seek the spotlight.

CNN Moderator: One audience member says "I am waiting for Bill's talk show. I'll be the first caller." Do either of you think President Clinton has a future in television or radio?

Ann Lewis: I don't think there's going to be a talk show. I think that was one of these rumors that bounced around and almost took on a life of its own, but I don't think that's going to happen.

Cliff May: Ann is probably right, though the temptation to tell jokes and play the saxophone may be overwhelming!

CNN Moderator: Thank you for joining us today, Ann Lewis and Cliff May.

Ann Lewis: Goodbye. And I have really enjoyed this!

Cliff May: It's been my pleasure to be in this chat room for the first time!

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