Iowan stayed insulated from Clinton Administration problems

An Iowan who’s had a ring-side seat in the Clinton Adminstration says she was insulated from the firestorms which erupted over the past few years. Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell has been director of the Justice Department’s “Violence Against Women” office for the past five years. She says she’s had great support from everyone in the administration.Campbell works under U-S Attorney General Janet Reno, whose most recent controversy involved six-year-old Elian Gonzales. She says she feels she had a special seat in the unfolding of some interesting history.Campbell says she was insulated from the partisan acrimony and finger-pointing because her job was supported by both democrats and republicans.Campbell says the partisan squabbling made the atmosphere in Washington poisonous. She says it remains to be seen how the next administration will handle things.Campbell has been nominated by President Clinton to a federal judgeship, but Republicans in the Senate have stalled many nominations, waiting to see if Republican candidate George W. Bush wins the presidency. Campbell was in Des Moines over the weekend, delivering the commencement address for Drake University’s Law School. Campbell got her undergrad and law degrees from Drake.