Clinton Takes Questions Online Amid Heckling

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Clinton gave his first live online news interview on Monday, showing he could dodge questions in the new media as well as the old, while Internet hecklers had a field day.

``I think I should pass on that,'' Clinton responded to the first question in the interview, which CNN billed as a historic first.

The question, posed by Frank Williams of Illinois, asked the president's assessment of the Republican presidential battle between George Bush and John McCain (news - web sites).

Although he went on to answer most of the questions put to him in the 25-minute interview, the president said he did not want to speak about the race until the Democratic convention, or unless he was provoked by a candidate's comment.

Clinton was interviewed live on CNN television by journalist Wolf Blitzer. Blitzer read questions submitted through e-mail and CNN's Internet chat room and selected by CNN staff members, as he and the president sat by laptop screens.

The event was broadcast over cable and the Internet, and Clinton's answers were typed into a CNN online chat auditorium.

Hecklers took the opportunity to chime in. One evaded CNN's filtering software -- aimed at screening out inappropriate questions -- to state, under the president's name: ``Personally, I would like to see more porn on the Internet.''

CNN spokesman Paul Schur said he did not know exactly how the filter was breached, but he said CNN's computer system was not broken into.

Other hecklers submitted questions on CNN's message board, referring to Clinton's sex scandals or political controversies. ''Can you define 'is' for us yet?'' asked one, referring to the president's tortuous explanation of his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

The interview covered a wide range of topics -- from Russian policy to the economy, and frequently delved into issues regarding the Internet itself.

Clinton said he was opposed to taxing people's connections to the Internet, but said the issue of whether online sales should be taxed was a ``tough question.''

He also sought to reassure Americans over a spate of computer attacks that temporarily shut down major Web sites last week. There probably was more the government could do to improve computer security, Clinton said.

``I think it's important the American people not overreact to this,'' he said. ``That is, we're into a whole new world with the Internet, and whenever we sort of cross another plateau in our development, there are those who seek to take advantage of it.

``This is a replay of things that have happened throughout our history, and we'll figure out how to do it and go forward,'' he said.

Asked his favorite Internet sites, Clinton said ``I love books, so I like Amazon.com, and I'm fascinated by eBay, because I like to swap and trade and it reminds me of the old, you know, kind of farmer's markets and town markets I used to visit when I started out in politics in Arkansas so many years ago.''

Clinton danced around a question about the stalled Middle East peace process, saying he did not want to detail his plans.

``I think that there will have to be some forward progress here in the next few weeks, and I'll do whatever I can to facilitate it in whatever way I can,'' he said. ``But beyond that, I don't want to say anything right now. We're working it and the parties are working it.''