As George Bush takes the oath as President today, the country's attention is elsewhere. Over the last few weeks it is as though the US has suddenly realised that the most colourful and competent leader of recent times is vacating the White House, to be replaced by a man for whom it can only be said, diplomatically, that expectations are not high.

Last year during the campaign we heard about Clinton fatigue, the electorate's exhaustion with the lovable rogue. No more. With an approval rating of 65 per cent, the highest for any departing president since modern opinion polling began, Mr Clinton is already missed. Moreover, there is great hope and expectation following him and his post-presidency career as he assumes the role of private citizen.

Bill Clinton in his eight years as president redefined politics in the US. Duplicitous, brilliant, sentimental, shrewd and intellectually agile; he has been called these things and more. He presided over the most prosperous economy in US history.

A so-called New Democrat, he ended welfare and many of the social entitlements that were considered sacred to liberals, In doing so, he redefined liberalism in the US and abroad. He saw the US role as key on the world stage, supporting his Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, as, famously or infamously, depending on your view, she called the US the world's "indispensable nation". As his successor assumes a near-isolationist position on world affairs, Mr Clinton's foreign policy role will likely grow in memory.

For now, however, it is New York that is particularly high-spirited as it welcomes President and Senator Clinton, as the couple are now formally called.

Mr Clinton will spend his nights at the Chappaqua house in Westchester County, about an hour from Manhattan. During the day he will be driven into the city where he will work from a suite of offices on the 56th floor of the Carnegie Towers building on West 57th Street.

Like all ex-presidents, Mr Clinton will have his office space and a small staff paid for by the taxpayers. The rent on the swank offices is estimated at about $650,000 a year. The space is expected to serve as sort of government-in-exile for the Democratic Party. For her part, Senator Hillary Clinton will maintain offices a few blocks away on 3rd Avenue.

Not since Richard Nixon has New York played host to an ex-president, and Mr Nixon was hardly welcomed. On this occasion, New York is buzzing. Restaurateurs, hotel managers, jazz clubbers, all cannot wait for Mr Clinton to show up.

Julian Niccolini, a manager at the chic Four Seasons restaurant, says he already has a permanent table waiting for Mr Clinton. Jazz fans are hoping that Mr Clinton will bring his saxophone to Michael's Pub on Monday nights, where he could join a regular, film-maker and clarinet-player Woody Allen, in impromptu jazz sessions.

Speculation about what Mr Clinton will actually do with his time is rampant. His energy and commitment to public service seem undiminished, although he has ruled out running for elected office in the immediate future. And while the building of the Clinton Presidential Library in Arkansas is high on the agenda, the building itself is not scheduled to be completed until 2003.

He has made it clear, particularly by designating his close friend and chief fundraiser, Terry McAuliffe, as the new chief of the national Democratic Party, that he intends to stay involved in politics. As the Democrats seek to choose a presidential candidate in 2004, most observers name Mr Clinton as the most important power-broker in politics. Al Gore's name barely surfaces in these discussions.

In the meantime, the consensus is that Mr Clinton will work hard at making money. Lots of money. His legal bills from the Whitewater and Lewinsky scandals total $8 million.

His immediate prospects are a book advance for his memoirs, which are expected to fetch about $5 million. In addition, Mr Clinton can count on lecture fees of about $100,000 each, and he is expected to give at least 20 paid speeches a year. His presidential pension is about $151,000 a year.

Ms Clinton's Senate salary is about $141,000 a year, and she just received an $8 million book advance. So, although the couple have hefty mortgage payments - some $10,000 a month on their $1.3 million New York house and $14,000 a month of their new $1.9 million Washington house - they will do all right financially.

Many people feel Mr Clinton deserves a rest, some fun and plenty of money. But though he leaves office, he is a long way from leaving the spotlight.