Monday, Aug. 27, 2001 | 10:58 a.m.
Former President Bill Clinton says the most difficult part of being a private citizen has been organizing his life to meet his family and humanitarian responsibilities.
"It is the first time in my life I've been able to save a little money to take care of my family and still pursue the public interests I care about," Clinton told the Sun in an exclusive interview Friday.
"My goal is to do this for three or four years ... until I can save enough money so that my family can be all right. Then I want to give 100 percent of my time to public service."
Clinton, out of office since January after serving eight years as president, recently took a giant step toward financial security when he obtained a record $10 million-plus advance to write his memoirs. He also has been collecting hefty fees for public speaking engagements around the country.
High on his list of causes, he said, is putting together a foundation of the more affluent of the 1 million Indian-Americans living in the United States to help raise the quality of life in impoverished parts of India.
Clinton's other public-service work includes fighting AIDS in Africa, where the fatal disease is running rampant, promoting economic development in Harlem, improving living conditions of American Indians and furthering racial and religious reconciliation in the United States and around the world.
"Once you have been president, you have a unique experience that only a few people have had," Clinton said.
"A former president owes it to the American people to try to use the life the American people gave him to give back and do good things.
"In the last year I've spent about half my time on public service and half my time on earning an income and organizing my life, with the move to New York," where his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, is a Democratic U.S. senator.
"I've been busy this year," Clinton added. "I've been to 19 countries already, and I'm going to do five more before the end of the year. ... I've got my office set up in Harlem, and I'm in the process of building a library in Arkansas."
Does he miss the presidency? You bet.
"I loved being president," Clinton said. "And I loved living in the White House -- I loved the old place, and Hillary and I took good care of it.
"And I would have probably done the job forever, if I could have, if we didn't have a two-term limit. But on the other hand, I respect the system we have, and I've actually very much enjoyed having a private life."
Clinton said that after nearly 30 years as a public official, he has enjoyed finally having "real time" for himself.
A couple of months ago, he said, he traveled to France and was able to spend seven uninterrupted hours in Paris as a tourist.
Last week in Las Vegas, Clinton did the same thing, visiting with local friends, including Sun Editor and President Brian Greenspun, a former college classmate.
"I actually spent some private personal time in Las Vegas for the first time since I came through here 35 years ago as a college student," he said. " I had one or two things to do every day, and the rest of the day I could play golf with Brian. It's been great.
Clinton and his 21-year-old daughter, Chelsea, who is headed to Oxford University Great Britain for graduate work, spent five days at the Four Seasons Hotel on the Strip.
He was paid to speak for three of those days at a convention, but otherwise relaxed, accompanying his daughter to the Siegfried & Roy show at the Mirage and enjoying other tourist activities.
Clinton also was the star attraction at an exclusive political fund-raiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Four Seasons.
These days, however, the former president said he gets his political kicks following his wife's Senate career.
"I kind of get to keep my hand in it by supporting my wife -- she's my surrogate political pleasure now," Clinton said. "Somebody came to me the other day and commented on the fact that I've lost 10 or 15 pounds. I said, 'Well I'm a Senate spouse now. I have to look good. I've got to be presentable.' "
As for the possibility of his wife one day serving as president and Clinton returning to the White House as the first "first gentleman," Clinton said such talk "is premature."
"She has had a very distinguished public life that goes back 30 years -- I'm very proud of her," Clinton said. "She is working herself to death in the Senate. She has introduced and passed more legislation than any freshman member of either party.
"She is very effective, and she is getting along pretty well with most of her Republican colleagues, as well as the Democrats.
"I think you can do a lot of good in the Senate if you work at it. It's hard work ... and she is very well suited to it."
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