McLarty admits the transition from campaigning to governing was a steep learning curve. “I think that President Clinton’s greatest strengths were in some ways his weaknesses as well,” he says. “The fact that on the campaign trail he would linger with people, listen to them attentively, remember what they said—the great empathy, I-feel-your-pain—was absolutely true. But in trying to manage the White House, stay on schedule, move things forward, it may not serve quite so well.”
