"I think [it's] because they believe [rightly] that the White House press corps tilts distinctly Democratic and generally doesn't like Bush or his policies, so Bush's team can't expect to get cut much slack no matter what they do."

Orin says Clinton's press secretary Mike McCurry was particularly effective at schmoozing the press, describing him as "the best I've ever seen at using his friendship with reporters to benefit his boss – and himself."

The Post Washington bureau chief also took a shot at the New York Times for turning up its nose at one of the juicier tidbits to emerge from Mr. Clinton's memoirs so far.

Citing reports that the ex-president says he cheated on Hillary with Monica Lewinksy "just because I could," Orin noted that the Times "buried that story as a tiny little piece way back in the paper as if to haughtily say, this is beneath our notice because it's too tabloid."

Noting that both the Post and New York Daily News front-paged the revelation, Orin called the Times news judgment "ridiculous."

"Bill Clinton is one of the major figures of our era and this was a central issue in his presidency," she explained.

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