Clinton Cites Economic Successes, Policy Failures in '60 Minutes' Interview.

Byline: Farah Stockman

Jun. 21--WASHINGTON -- Although his presidency may be indelibly marked by his affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, former president Bill Clinton said his biggest failure as president dealt with policies not achieved.

"I'm sorry on the home front that we didn't get health care and that we didn't reform Social Security," Clinton told CBS's "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired last night. "And international affairs I'm -- I regret that I didn't succeed in getting Osama bin Laden. And, equally I'm sorry that I wasn't able enough to convince the Israelis and the Palestinians to make peace."

Clinton said his economic plan was his greatest accomplishment.

"I kept score, how many people's lives were better off," he told Dan Rather. "I think the fact that we were able to have 22 million jobs and record home ownership and lower interest rates -- people actually had the ability to do more things than ever before."

Among the low points were telling voters that he had smoked marijuana but not inhaled, and the nadir was finally telling his wife, Hillary, about the affair.

"I had a sleepless night and woke her up and sat down on the side of the bed and just told her," Clinton said. "And it was awful. But I had to do it, because the grand jury testimony was coming up and I was going to tell the truth to the grand jury, and I wanted her to know before it happened."