Clinton Apologizes to Party, Public for Affair

Embarked on what he called a “painful journey,” President Clinton spent Wednesday offering emotional apologies, in private and public, for his relationship with Monica S. Lewinsky.

In settings as diverse as a meeting at the White House with Democratic leaders in Congress and two Democratic fund-raising events in Florida, the president vowed to redeem himself and sought understanding.

“I’ve tried to do a good job,” Clinton said in Coral Gables at the end of a day of bared emotions, “even when I haven’t done such a good job taking care of myself and my family and my obligations.”

At each turn, he gained the support he sought, first from the Democratic House leaders, then in applause from party contributors.

Husky-voiced and somber, Clinton said at a luncheon in Orlando: “I . . . let you down and I let my family down and I let this country down. But I’m trying to make it right. And I’m determined never to let anything like that happen again.”

The president’s surprise remarks at the Orlando event not only were the most extensive that he has made concerning the Lewinsky scandal, but also the most emotionally tinged since he acknowledged his affair with the former White House intern in a nationally televised speech Aug. 17.

His comments also came shortly before independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr delivered a surprise of his own, sending without warning his report on the Lewinsky matter to Congress, which now will determine what--if any--action to take against the president.

Hours earlier in Washington, Clinton presided over a White House meeting at which--one by one--House Democratic leaders chastised him for the affair and for his denying it for seven months.

Participants said that one of the most powerful moments occurred when Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) told Clinton: “Mr. President, you need to dig deep into your heart and into your soul, and come to grips with your actions.”

Even many of Clinton’s staunchest supporters had scolded him for not appearing contrite enough in his Aug. 17 speech--a critique apparently repeated at the White House session Wednesday--and his comments in Orlando indicated that he had taken the criticism to heart.

“I ask you for your understanding, for your forgiveness on this journey we’re on,” he said. “I hope this will be a time of reconciliation and healing, and I hope that millions of families all over America are, in a way, growing stronger because of this.

“These have been the toughest days of my life,” he said. “But they may turn out to be the most valuable for me and my family. And I have no one to blame but myself for my self-inflicted wounds.”

Saying he was “determined to redeem the trust of all the American people,” Clinton spoke of a child he had met earlier in the afternoon at Hillcrest Elementary School, who had expressed a desire to grow up to be president, “like you.”

“And I thought,” the president said, “I want to be able to conduct my life and my presidency so that all the parents of the country could feel good if their children were able to say that again. I’ll never forget that little boy.”

The president avoided any direct mention of Starr, but he did caution that his opponents are attempting to make the Lewinsky scandal the centerpiece of November’s midterm elections.

“But don’t be fooled, not for a minute, not for a day,” he said. “Elections are about you and your children and your communities and your future.”

At the Coral Gables event, Clinton told his audience, “This has been a very moving day for me today.”

Although his references to the Lewinsky scandal were much briefer than his comments in Orlando, he said: “I hope that you and others will forgive me for the mistakes I’ve made.”

The start of Clinton’s day--his hourlong meeting with nine House Democratic leaders--may prove especially crucial to his future, for it is to them that he must turn if he is going to rally support in Congress as the details of the Starr report become known.

House Minority Whip David E. Bonior (D-Mich.) described the gathering as “an emotional meeting.”

“People felt very strongly about his actions, and they were very disappointed by his actions; let down by his behavior and his activities,” Bonior said. “And they said so.”

Edwards said: “I got the sense that this was someone who’s been doing some soul-searching, someone who cares deeply about the harm he’s caused and wants to find a way to mend that hurt and right those wrongs.”

As one member of Congress after another spoke, often bluntly and forcefully, the president--joined by Vice President Al Gore, but not First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton--listened “carefully and with understanding of what has happened,” Bonior said.

“He knows he has done something that has been very, very, very difficult for not only his family, but for the country. And he feels very deeply about all of this. And he expressed it in a very, very emotional way to us today--in a way that I haven’t seen before.”

Not once, however, did anyone speak the words “impeachment” or “resignation,” participants said, and there was no talk of punishment or possible criminal behavior.

Bonior predicted that, ultimately, House Democrats will be unified in their support of Clinton.

“When they meet with the president, talk to the president, as we have, [they] will understand the deep, deep pain that he feels personally and he knows he has caused folks,” he said. “What we saw was a father, a husband, a leader of our country, who was contrite and very sorry for his actions.” He added: “We all forgave the president.”

In the last week, several Senate Democrats, among them Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, Barbara Boxer of California and Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, have spoken harshly about Clinton. After such bruisings, White House officials presented the meeting Wednesday as a positive turn.

“It was a tough meeting,” said Doug Sosnik, a White House political advisor, who sat through the session. “The president was extremely honest on a personal level. The members didn’t pull any punches, while maintaining their support for him.”

Gerstenzang reported from Florida and Chen from Washington. Times staff writer Elizabeth Shogren in Washington contributed to this story.