I cannot understand why Clinton is said to have 'squandered' his presidency by presiding over a period of peace and great prosperity? That would seem to me to be the mark of a great president.

The writer also talks about an 'exhausting Clinton presidency' but let's get it right. It was exhausting waiting for all the right wing nuts to give up attempting to pin something more important on him than getting his pole greased in the Whitehouse.

A failed presidency is one that takes longer to recover from than it was in office. Clinton left office with money in the bank and good will in most parts of the globe. Recovery from Bush will take generations.