How They Blew It SO WHAT, EXACTLY, had gone wrong? The bad Gore call was not because of flaws in the exit polls or a data entry error, despite dozens of inaccurate media reports to that effect. Experts agree there was no bias in the exit polls, as there had been in New Hampshire. And the Duval County mistake, made an hour after the Gore call, played no part in the blunder, VNS Editorial Director Murray Edelman explained in a confidential November 14 memo to members. Nor were other errors to blame, such as one made by a VNS staffer who inaccurately recorded figures for Lake County at 9:01 p.m. and again at 10:47 p.m., coming up with totals larger than was possible. By 11:59 p.m., the errors were corrected. Nor was it due to a VNS operator shortchanging Gore by 4,000 votes in Brevard County, punching in 93,318 instead of 97,318 at 10:13 p.m., though that error may have played a role later in the evening since it wasn't corrected until 3:51 a.m, according to a VNS memo. "http://ajr.newslink.org/ajrlisajan01.html

A War on Poverty Subtly Linked to Race The shift in antipoverty policy, though sold in race-neutral terms, is central to the racial legacy Mr. Clinton leaves. At times he spoke explicitly, even eloquently, about racial justice; he defended affirmative action; and he appointed record numbers of blacks and Latinos to positions of influence. Yet much of his work consisted of more subtle efforts to reshape racial perceptions. "Clinton understood that welfare had become a racially stigmatized program," said Theda Skocpol, a political scientist at Harvard University who studies programs for the poor. "He ended the most controversial aspects of welfare, but at the same time, he built up supports for working families. And he certainly did see this as an effort to quiet racial disputes about social supports for the vulnerable." http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/26/politics/26CLIN.html?pagewanted=all

Economic Engine for Foreign Policy "Bob came in and essentially told us that Mexico had 48 hours to live," recalled Samuel R. Berger, Mr. Clinton's national security adviser. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/28/politics/28CLIN.html?pagewanted=all

A War on Poverty Subtly Linked to Race "Clinton understood that welfare had become a racially stigmatized program," said Theda Skocpol, a political scientist at Harvard University who studies programs for the poor. "He ended the most controversial aspects of welfare, but at the same time, he built up supports for working families. And he certainly did see this as an effort to quiet racial disputes about social supports for the vulnerable." Citing initiatives from urban tax breaks to college scholarships, Hugh B. Price, president of the National Urban League, put it this way: "He has attempted to do things that have been of enormous benefit to communities of color, without labeling them that way. The idea was that you could build a stronger consensus for public policies that were cast in race-neutral terms." http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/26/politics/26CLIN.html?pagewanted=all

The Wisdom to Let the Good Times Roll Mr. Clinton's fiscal policy served as a laboratory for a change in economic thought. For decades, governments had operated in the belief that running deficits was often good because it would stimulate activity and employment in an economy running at less than its potential. But that traditional assumption, based on the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, has been turned on its head, at least in the United States. Deficits are now considered growth-sapping, draining capital from the private sector, pushing up interest rates and creating uncertainty on Wall Street. Balanced budgets � or better yet, surpluses � are believed to hold down interest rates, free capital for the private sector and reassure investors about long-term economic stability. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/25/politics/25CLIN.html?pagewanted=alll

An Interview With Bill Clinton http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/politics/24CTEX.html?pagewanted=all

Failing Farmers Learn to Profit From Federal Aid "So maybe it is time we had some intellectual honesty in farm policy," Mr. Glickman said. "Nobody talked about this during the presidential election. And you rarely hear it spoken in Congress. But these farm payments have become truly rural support payments." http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/national/24RURA.html?pagewanted=all

The Clinton Legacy: Striking Strengths, Glaring Shortcomings Mr. Clinton has lived more lives than most politicians ever dream of having, and skirted more deaths, only to rise again. Throughout his tenure, voters consistently said they did not particularly trust Mr. Clinton personally, but they trusted him to look out for their interests, and his job approval ratings seemed to rise with his legal bills. He used surpassing gifts of innate empathy to find a new presidential style of relating to the public, and to forge an extraordinary connection with ordinary Americans, especially minorities. If the Constitution had not barred him from running again, polls suggest he might well be preparing for a third term. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/12/24/politics/24CLIN.html?pagewanted=all