The attempt by the US Vice-President, Mr Al Gore, to distance himself from President Clinton's behaviour with Ms Monica Lewinsky as part of his own bid for the Presidency in 2000 is said to be causing strains in their relationship.
The Vice-President launched his presidential campaign last week by emphasising "family values" and in interviews he repeatedly called Mr Clinton's behaviour "inexcusable" and "terribly wrong." Mr Gore has referred to "that awful year we went through" and how it was "wasted time."
The New York Times has added fuel to the fire with an article quoting presidential aides as saying that "the Vice-President's words have created a friction that never before existed between the two men."
One aide told the newspaper: "The President is very upset. To the people who he is very close to, he is expressing how hurt he is and his dismay at the Vice-President. It is not a passing thing."
The President is said to regard Mr Gore's condemnation of his behaviour as "acts of ingratitude bordering on disloyalty," according to the article.
The President's chief of staff, Mr John Podesta, yesterday tried to play down the alleged strains saying that he talked to Mr Clinton about the article and he was "very surprised by the story because it doesn't reflect at all the way he feels."
Mr Podesta told the Washington Post that Mr Clinton has "a great relationship with the Vice-President. He is not at all bothered by the Vice-President's statements."
However, the President's spokesman, Mr Joe Lockhart, has said that he discussed with Mr Clinton the speech by Mr Gore launching his campaign and his critical TV interview.
Mr Lockhart said that Mr Gore did well in his announcement speech defining who he is and why he is qualified to be President but his TV interview on the same day criticising the President over the Lewinsky affair resulted in headlines about "Gore blasting Clinton".
Friends of President Bill Clinton believe he will run for the Senate from Arkansas in 2002, the New Yorker reported yesterday. The magazine said some old friends of the first family have been talking about another Senate race besides first lady Hillary Clinton's widely expected campaign in New York.
"These people believe that Bill Clinton will run for the United States Senate from Arkansas in 2002," the magazine said. The President's reaction to the idea was reported to be "noncommittal but interested".