Credit Clinton for focusing on crime

IT is easy to feel sorry for President Clinton, who had so much riding on the crime bill ....

But it's hard to shed too many tears. For one thing, the bill might still be resurrected. For another, despite its enormous size, it never seemed nearly so powerful a weapon against crime as Clinton has consistently claimed.

The crime bill that never made it to the floor ... was a messy try that probably would have done more good than harm. On balance, it seemed worth approving.

It would be a shame, however, if Clinton's presidency is seriously jeopardized by legislation whose value was so uncertain and price tag so high. Clinton deserves credit for continuing during his presidency ... to focus on fighting crime.