Politics can often make for strange bedfellows

When Bill Clinton was first elected, five former US presidents were still alive. Ronald Reagan, however, was a just a few years away from being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease; Gerald Ford had faded from the political scene as George Bush would soon do. Jimmy Carter was still active on the international stage, but it was Richard Nixon, a former Republican president from a different generation and once, in Clinton's own eyes, a cause of shame to US politics, who exerted the most influence on him.

After the Watergate scandal, Nixon was ostracized by his successors for more than two decades and never welcomed to the White House. Even Republican politicians kept their distance from him; none consulted him on state affairs.

Clinton also regarded Nixon as persona non grata at the start of his first term, not even making a courtesy telephone call to the him during his first two months in office. Despite Clinton's lack of interest, Nixon, eager to make a comeback, did everything he could to set up a meeting with the new president. Clinton finally gave in, considering that "befriending him is better than isolating him," and invited to the White House the former president who left it in disrepute.

Nixon and Clinton were polar opposites: Nixon was "Mr Cold War" and one of the perpetrators of the Vietnam War while Clinton was an anti-war draft dodger. Washington therefore exploded into uproar when news of the meeting came to light; it was an unimaginable event.

In fact, the first meeting between the two was a very humiliating experience for Nixon. In accordance with the three conditions set out by Clinton, Nixon had to enter the White House through the backdoor and neither photos nor reporters were allowed.

However, from that first meeting until his death, Nixon served as Clinton's mentor for more than a year. His influence was especially apparent in Clinton's Russia policy. Clinton followed most of his advice. Nixon won the nicknames "shadow president" and "shadow secretary of state." He was also Clinton's special envoy and the White House's top spokesman on Russia on Capitol Hill, as well as its most influential lobbyist for US aid to Russia.

His influence on Clinton far outweighed that of the other surviving Republican presidents. Nixon fully lived up to his moniker, "the most powerful former president in the world."

The relationship between Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) and Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is similar to that between Nixon and Clinton. Chen has paid several visits to Lee since his inauguration. It is reasonable for a president to consult a predecessor on national affairs. But it is the frequency of Chen's visits that surprises people. Lee is much more than a former president and a senior politician in Chen's mind; he is actually the president's mentor. This is why many people claim that they see imprints of Lee's legacy in Chen's conduct.

Lee had said that he would continue to observe domestic politics after he stepped down. Judging from his relationship with Chen, he is not just observing. Admittedly, it is still too early to tell whether his influence on Chen's policies will be so great as to entitle him to the sobriquet of "shadow president." But there is one thing we do know -- Lee's era has not entered the history books and Chen's time has barely come.

George Bush was upset that Nixon helped a Democratic president, but not him; Nixon's frequent criticisms of him stung as well. Lien Chan (連戰) must have a similar feeling.