Text size:

Clinton offers niceties on Bush

BY GLENN THRUSH | Newsday Washington Bureau

May 10, 2006

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton offered a thorny olive branch to President George W. Bush last night, praising his "charm and charisma" while claiming the administration covered up Sept. 11-related health problems in New York.

Clinton, speaking at an hour-long political chat with the head of the National Archives, was asked to say something nice about a man she recently described as one of the worst presidents in American history.

"He's been very willing to talk. He's been affable. He's been good company," said the New York Democrat, referring to her one-on-one exchanges with the Republican president. "He is someone who has a lot of charm and charisma, and I think in the immediate aftermath of 9/11, I was very grateful to him for his support for New York."

Clinton, recalling her discussions with Bush in the days after Sept. 11, thanked him for quickly authorizing $20 billion in federal recovery funds she requested.

"He always kept it on track," she said. "He made sure we got the resources that we needed and I'm very grateful to him for that."

Her tone couldn't have been more different when discussing the administration's response to the health complaints of rescue workers and residents following the attacks.

"I warned that the air wasn't safe after 9/11, the administration basically covered that up and refused to deal with it," she said.

She also blamed the White House for having "squandered" the bipartisan national good will the country enjoyed in the days following the attacks.