Clinton Credits His Acquittal to the Constitution and Public’s Support

President Clinton said Friday that the conclusion of the impeachment process against him had, in effect, “re-ratified” the Constitution and proved that if the public believes a president is working for them, they will stand by him.

“I have learned, again, an enormous amount of respect for our Constitution, our framers and for the American people,” Clinton said at his first news conference since the Senate acquitted him of two articles of impeachment last week.

He added: “My advice to future presidents would be to decide what you believe you ought to do for the country and focus on it and work hard; that the American people hire you to do that and will respond if you work at it and if they sense that you’re doing this for them.”

The comments provided Clinton’s first public acknowledgment of his belief that this mode of operation on his part was key to pulling him through the turmoil sparked by his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky.

But while he uttered upbeat words at his news conference, the president’s manner was subdued. He conceded he could not say the ordeal “has been good for the country.”

He offered no new words of contrition for his actions, saying simply that because of the scandal, “I’ve learned a lot of personal lessons, most of which I have already discussed.”

Asked his assessment of whether his office had been left unscathed, he said: “I hope that the presidency has not been harmed. I don’t believe it has been.”

Turning to the latest hot political topic in Washington, the president asked that First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton be given time to make her decision on whether to run for the Senate from New York, saying she has “just been through a very exhausting year.”

After the news conference, aides said that throughout the long months when Clinton first denied his affair with Lewinsky, then admitted it, then suffered through impeachment by the House and trial by the Senate, his guiding principle remained constant: Keep doing the people’s work and they will sort through the mess and keep supporting you.

“I think he had an almost Zen-like belief in the fairness of the American people through all this,” said Douglas B. Sosnik, a senior White House political advisor. “He believed that at the end of the day, the American people would make an informed and fair evaluation of an appropriate level of punishment. That kept him going through this past year.”

Clinton’s acquittal by the Senate, Sosnik said, reaffirmed “the belief he has that the people will get it right.”

At his news conference, the president also repeated a comment he made last August in his first grudging admission of his relationship with Lewinsky: “Presidents are people too.”

A senior White House aide, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Clinton’s remarks show that while he accepts that he has to take responsibility for his personal misdeeds, “ultimately he was hired to do a job and he will be evaluated on his ability to do that job.”

Another senior advisor, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, elaborated on Clinton’s comment that that impeachment process served to re-ratify the Constitution.

“In the House, the process spiraled out of control, but when it got to the Senate, the framers’ idea was upheld: You don’t remove a president unless he has committed a high crime against the state,” the advisor said.

Discussing the prospect of his wife seeking the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.), Clinton said: “[My] advice has been--to take some time, get some rest, listen to people on both sides of the argument and decide exactly what you think is right to do. And then whatever she decides, I’ll be for.”

Slipping into one of his favorite roles--campaign strategist--Clinton added that even if Mrs. Clinton did not need the time to make up her mind, it would be politically unwise for her to declare this early.

“I also think that even in a presidential race, it’s hard to keep a kettle of water boiling for almost two years,” he said.

Earlier in the day, the first lady met with Moynihan, whom she invited to the White House to review the political challenges a Senate race would pose.

Speaking with reporters as he departed, Moynihan said they had reviewed voting patterns and demographics--the nuts and bolts of putting together a winning campaign in the diverse and sprawling state.

The numbers, he said, “look very good for her, but New York is a big demographic problem.”

The senator described her as “very much involved” in reaching a decision about whether to make the race.

The first lady’s spokeswoman, Marsha Berry, said only that the two “had a very nice meeting.”

“These are private meetings,” she said of the sessions the first lady is conducting as she considers whether to make the race. “She’s not going to comment on them.”

Earlier this week, Mrs. Clinton said that she would make a decision later this year.

Times staff writer James Gerstenzang contributed to this story.