THE famous "special relationship" between Britain and the US should get a boost with the entry of the Labour leader, Mr Tony Blair, into 10 Downing Street.
It should also lead to renewed US efforts to restore peace in Northern Ireland, still one of President Clinton's goals for his second term.
While the White House is stressing the "continuity" in the relationship and the unlikelihood of any change, the special rapport between "baby boomers" Mr Clinton and Mr Blair and their many shared interests means there will be a warmth in the Washington London links that was not possible with Mr Major.
Mr Clinton telephoned Mr Blair on election night to congratulate him but could not make contact with Mr Major.
Mr Clinton did, contrary to some views, get on quite well with Mr Major in spite of the tensions when he was first elected in 1992.
There was resentment then over how the Conservatives showed open favouritism for George Bush and even allowed his campaign to search files for any embarrassing material on Mr Clinton while he was a Rhodes scholar in Oxford in the late 1960s.
But Mr Clinton himself does not seem to have harboured a personal grudge towards Mr Major and has gone out of his way to correct impressions that there was one.
The White House spokesman, Mr Mike McCurry, said yesterday that the president would be calling Mr Major to express his appreciation "for the very close working relationship he had with the prime minister and to reflect on the important achievements they have made together with respect to Bosnia the Northern Ireland peace process, the future of NATO".
At the same time, Mr Major was annoyed when Mr Clinton, against British advice, authorised a US visa for the Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams, in 1994 before the IRA ceasefire was called.
The ending of the IRA ceasefire was a huge disappointment to the Clinton administration.
While Sinn Fein lost influence, the US and Britain became closer as both countries, along with the Irish Government, worked to get the peace process back on track.
There was increasing irritation in the White House as the IRA failed to respond to the numerous appeals from Mr Clinton, the Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, and Senator Ted Kennedy for a new ceasefire which would allow Sinn Fein a place at the negotiating table.
There was also a tendency by some Irish and US officials to fault the British government for not giving certain assurances to the IRA about the timing of Sinn Fein getting to the table if a ceasefire were called.
There is some expectation now that Mr Clinton will use an early meeting with Mr Blair to urge more flexibility on the British side on the conditions for a ceasefire. But it is emphasised that while both the IRA and the British government must make moves if the peace process is to get back on track, the calling of the ceasefire by the IRA is absolutely essential.
Behind the scenes, the White House will explore with London and Sinn Fein what signals the new Labour government could send which would bring about the ceasefire. Mr Clinton and Mr Blair will meet at a number of summits over the coming months.
Mr Clinton will be in Europe twice in May and July for a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan and for the NATO summit in Madrid. Both leaders also will meet in Denver in June for the G-8 economic summit.
However, Northern Ireland will not be at the top of their agendas. NATO enlargement, Bosnia, Hong Kong and China are the major items.
"Our agenda is one of common purpose has been and will continue to be," Mr McCurry emphasised.