"Not much," writes Newsweek columnist Robert J.Samuelson.

"The final budget spends a sizable part of the surplus, and the president -- far from objecting -- actually engineered much of the extra spending and boasts about it. He's especially proud of a new program to put 100,000 extra teachers in public schools. But Clinton also claims to have fulfilled his pledge to save all the surplus. This is, of course, doublespeak. The wonder is that much of the public still swallows it," Mr.Samuelson said.

"Here is fresh evidence (if any were needed) that this president's concept of the truth is whatever he wants it to be and whatever he thinks will play. It doesn't matter whether the subject is his sex life, schools or Social Security. Similar standards apply, and he maintains -- despite the Lewinsky scandal -- an abiding confidence that he can fool most of the people most of the time. And he may be right; certainly the budget debate offers no contrary evidence."