The business of being an ex-US president is problematic. For some, notably Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan, life after the White House has been as personally unwrenching as their terms in office. Neither of the aforementioned has seemed ambitious or ambivalent about retirement.
Golf, lives of leisure, and quality time spent with the grandchildren have been the norm. George Bush also appears content, devoting much of his time to the political ambitions of his two sons, both elected governors of large states, with one touted as a front-runner for the Presidential election in 2000.
Although he is poised today to survive the Republican effort to remove him, there being every indication that Bill Clinton will finish out his term in office, Mr Clinton has a Richard Nixon-like problem.
Mr Nixon was not removed from office, but he resigned in shame after the Watergate scandal. After his retreat to his New Jersey estate in 1974, Mr Nixon spent his remaining years trying to restore his legacy and highlight his considerable achievements in foreign policy.
Observers say Mr Nixon actually ran a campaign from his home, phoning scholars and politicians, even quietly advising presidents with his vast expertise. And by the time of his death, historians had indeed begun to revise their view of Mr Nixon's presidency, claiming that the cheap burglary that set off the Watergate scandal obscured Mr Nixon's greater achievements.
Mr Clinton, according to New Republic writer Peter Beinert, has been known to remark that he never had the chance to be a great president because he did not serve in times of crisis. Before the Lewinsky saga and his impeachment in the Congress, scholars of the American presidency agreed with Mr Clinton: he has been a good president, particularly with economic programmes that balanced the federal budget, kept the stock market rolling along, and held inflation and unemployment to bare minimums.
But sound monetary policy, while critical, is not the legacy of a great presidency. Mr Clinton, even before the scandal, offered no overarching vision of a better society, offered no programmes that would be remembered generations from now. His sole attempt in that regard, a reform of the US healthcare system, failed miserably.
And then came the Lewinsky affair and the subsequent 13- month investigation which culminated in impeachment - and likely acquittal - by the Senate. It has seriously damaged Mr Clinton's stature on every level. And now, as he prepares for the final two years of his term, he must look forward to his own ex-presidency. Unlike older men, Mr Clinton, as the youngest ex-president since Teddy Roosevelt, will have to live with his legacy for a long time.
It was in 1996, according to Time magazine, when Mr Clinton sat on a red sofa in the Map Room of the White House and discussed the matter of the ex-presidency with friends. Mr Clinton, according to those present, said he had given much study to the matter. The most successful ex-president, Mr Clinton thought, was Jimmy Carter, a man who probably had one of the less successful presidencies of this century. Indeed, many people think Mr Clinton may model his post-White House years on Mr Carter. And it is difficult to imagine the gregarious Mr Clinton huddled on the phone, Nixon-like, in Arkansas. There are a few tempting alternatives.
Mr Clinton is often rightly thought of as the Hollywood President. He loves California and his closest associates during his presidency have been with Hollywood celebrities and movie producers. So speculation has long been rampant that Mr Clinton would move to Los Angeles and take a top position with Dreamworks, the movie studio headed by his good friends and supporters, Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.
Then there is the corporate route. Mr Clinton could earn a considerable living as a lawyer, although it is rather hard to imagine him occupying himself with the day to day banalities of practising law. No, it is far more likely, given his devotion to the ideas of history and legacy, that Mr Clinton will attempt to emulate Mr Carter.
Mr Carter, by any measurement, has been an extraordinary ex-president, a position he assumed at the age of 56. First there are the books.
Beyond the usual obligatory memoir by the ex-president, Mr Carter has gone on to be a prolific and best-selling author, offering his philosophies on a variety of topics.
But his most unusual achievement has been the Carter Centre, which many thought would simply being a do-nothing one-man monument to ego when it was established. It has been anything but. With a staff of 200 working at its 35-acre location in Atlanta, Georgia, and an annual budget of $27 million (£19 million), the Carter Centre says its mission is to wage peace around the world by bringing warring parties to the negotiating table, monitoring elections to ensure democracy around the globe, safeguarding human rights, fighting disease, and increasing production. It is a broad mandate, but Mr Carter has been quite successful.
The most stunning achievement was Mr Carter's involvement with the Guinea worm, about as unglamorous an item as any politician could encounter.
Less than a decade ago, this parasite afflicted five million people in Central Africa. Living inside the body for a year, the worm would grow to three feet and break through the skin. It was agonisingly painful and often fatal.
Mr Carter convinced the World Health Organisation to make the eradication of the disease its number two priority after smallpox. He convinced the giant corporation, DuPont, to supply millions of drinking water filters. And he talked American Cyanamid into providing larvicides.
Today, the number of cases in the world is under 100,000 and decreasing.
With this kind of precedent in mind. Mr Clinton is building a $100 million facility in Little Rock, Arkansas.
It will be a presidential library like all presidents have, but there are plenty of indications that Mr Clinton may already be contemplating it as a government in exile, a policy institute.
There are, of course, the next two years to contend with, and aides say that is where Mr Clinton is currently focused.
He is adamant, they say, about accomplishing several things. He wants to leave as his presidential legacy the preservation and solvency of the social security pension system well into the 21st century.
Next, he wants to ensure the election of Vice-President Al Gore. In this, he sees Mr Gore's ascension as a national confirmation of their joint policies.
Finally, he wants to return the Congress to the Democratic Party. In this, he sees a way to thank the Congressional Democrats for supporting him in the impeachment trial, and also to thank Representative Richard Gephardt, who wants to become Speaker of the House, for not running against Mr Gore.
That last matter could prove troubling for Mr Clinton, who has often showed an uncanny ability to grow over-confident at the wrong time. A climate of vindictiveness against House Republicans will not help restore Mr Clinton's dignity. Perhaps he does not care.
In the goal to raise $10 million to defeat the Republicans, Mr Clinton has already scheduled a trip to San Francisco in two weeks, where he will keynote a Democratic fund-raising event.
The post-presidency agenda has already begun.