A Legacy.

FOR MOST OF HIS SEVEN years at the White House, President Clinton has given us little reason to cheer.

Finally, in his last year in office, the good ol' Arkansas boy has done something the whole country can celebrate -- the renomination of Alan Greenspan as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

Despite occasional pronouncements that send the markets into a spin, Wall Street is certainly happy with the move, and the rest of us should be. Greenspan has a remarkable record of managing the nation's monetary policy. As much as anyone else, he is the reason for the longest run of continued economic growth in history.

It isn't easy to balance the need for growth and thc need to keep inflation in check. With his belief that the best course is an ounce of prevention before inflation picks up steam, no one has done it better than Greenspan.