| I had enjoyed getting to know and work with the other leadersAnd after the G-7, I felt more confident in my ability to advance Americas interests in the world and understood why so many Presidents preferred foreign policy to the frustrations they faced on the home front
In South Korea, I visited our troops along the DMZ, which had divided North and South Korea since the armistice ending the Korean War was signedI walked out onto the Bridge of No Return, stopping about ten feet from the stripe of white paint dividing the two countries and staring at the young North Korean soldier guarding his side in the last lonely outpost of the Cold WarIn Seoul, Hillary and I were the guests of President Kim Yong-Sam in the official guest residence, which had an indoor swimming poolWhen I went for a dip, music suddenly filled the airI found myself swimming to many of my favorite tunes, from Elvis to jazz, a nice example of Koreas famous hospitalityAfter a meeting with the president and a speech to the parliament, I left South Korea grateful for our long alliance and determined to maintain it
I returned to the rigors of WashingtonIn the rolex sea dweller third week of July, on the recommendation of Janet Reno, I dismissed the director of the FBI, William Sessions, after he refused to resign despite numerous problems within the agencyWe had to find a replacementBernie Nussbaum urged me to choose Louis Freeh, a former FBI agent whom President Bush had appointed to the federal bench in New York after a stellar career as a federal prosecutorWhen I met with Freeh, I asked him what he thought about the FBIs assertion at Waco that they had proceeded with the raid because it was wrong to keep so many of their resources tied down in one place for so longWithout knowing what I thought, he said forthrightly that he disagreed: They get paid to waitI knew Freeh was a Republican, but Nussbaum assured me that he was a professional and a stand-up guy who would not use the FBI for political purposesWe scheduled the announcement for the twentiethThe day before, when word got out about the appointment, a retired FBI agent who was a friend of mine called Nancy Heinrich, who ran the Oval Office operations, to tell me not to do itHe said Freeh was too political and self-serving for the current ladies omega watches climateIt gave me pause, but I sent word back that it was too late; the offer had been extended and acceptedI would just have to trust Bernie Nussbaums judgment
When we announced Freehs appointment in a morning ceremony in the Rose Garden, I noticed Vince Foster standing at the back, near one of the grand old magnolia trees planted by Andrew JacksonVince had a smile on his face, and I remember thinking he must be relieved that he and the counsels office were working on things like Supreme Court and FBI appointments, instead of answering endless questions about the Travel OfficeThe whole ceremony seemed perfect, almost too good to be trueIt was, in more ways than one
That night I appeared on Larry Kings show from the library on the ground floor of the White House to talk about my battle for the budget and whatever else was on his and his callers mindsLike everyone else, I liked Larry KingHe has a good sense of humor and a human touch, even when hes asking tough questionsAbout forty-five minutes into the program, things were going so well that Larry asked me if Id do an extra thirty minutes, so that we could take more questions best fake tiffany and co from viewersI agreed immediately and was looking forward to it, but at the next break Mack McLarty showed up and said we had to end the interview after an hourAt first I was irritated, thinking my staff was worried that I might make a mistake if I kept going, but the look in Macks eyes told me something else was going on
After Larry and I wrapped up the interview and I shook hands with his crew, Mack walked me upstairs to the residenceHolding back tears, he told me Vince Foster was deadVince had left the Rose Garden after the ceremony for Louis Freeh, driven out to Fort Marcy Park, and shot himself with an old revolver that was a family heirloomWe had been friends virtually all our livesOur backyards had touched when I lived with my grandparents in HopeWe had played together even before Mack and I started kindergartenI knew Vince had been upset by the Travel Office controversy and held himself responsible for the criticism directed at the counsels officeHe had also been wounded by questions raised about his competence and integrity in several Wall Street Journal editorials
Just the night before, I had called Vince to fake chloe bag invite him to watch a movie with meI was hoping to give him some encouragement, but he had already gone home for the night and said he needed to spend some time with his wife, LisaI did my best in our phone conversation to persuade him to shrug off the Journal editorialsThe Journal was a fine paper, but not that many people read its editorials; most of those who did were, like the editorial writers, conservatives who were lost to us anywayVince listened, but I could tell I hadnt convinced himHe had never been subject to public criticism before and, like so many people when theyre pounded in the press for the first time, he seemed to think that everyone had read the negative things said about him and believed them
After Mack told me what had happened, Hillary called me from Little RockShe already knew and was cryingVince had been her closest friend at the Rose firmShe was frantically searching for an answer we would never completely findwhy this had happenedI did my best to convince her there was nothing she could have done, all the while wondering what I could have doneThen Mack and I went over to Vinces house to be with the louis vuitton backpacks fami |
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