Clinton hopes to replace impeachment shame with policy fame in final year

WASHINGTON, Jan 20: US President Bill Clinton has but a year left in office and he's already dreading the day he must turn over the White House keys, give up his beloved Air Force One jet and fade into the wings, reports AFP.

"When I go in a room in the White House now, I look around more carefully to make sure that I've actually noticed something that I may not have seen," a wistful Clinton said Wednesday when asked by reporters about his swan song.

He added that he was painfully aware that January 20 marks the first day of his last year in office.

"I just want to milk every last moment of every day. The only thing I wish (is) I didn't have to sleep at all for a year," Clinton said.

In fact, the president already burns the midnight oil most nights and is known for keeping White House guests up until the wee hours to talk policy, philosophy and golf.

And still spry at just 53, Clinton will likely tap into that energy to leave office with a bang.

Clinton has frequently lamented that the constitution bars him from running for a third term and he admits it's tough playing second fiddle in his wife Hillary's Senate race and Vice President Al Gore's White House bid.

But fiddle he must as keeping his party in power would be an important chapter in his legacy.

Clinton's dim view of retirement has fueled speculation he may run for a Senate seat from his home state of Arkansas, but for now the president says he is focussed on making the most of his remaining 12 months.

His big plans, which include historic trips to Asia, peace deals in the hottest global spots and sustaining the economic boom, may also erase some of stain that his 1998 impeachment will leave on his legacy in history books.

On the domestic front, Clinton has been trotting out initiatives on health care, gun control and preserving the federal pension fund that he hopes to get through the opposition-led Congress this year.

"The sweep and depth of the proposals that I will make to the Congress and the country in the State of the Union are arguably the most far-reaching since the very first one I made," he said Wednesday as he prepared to deliver his final annual address to the legislature on January 27.

Clinton is equally intent on fixing global problems.