I stand corrected on my analysis of Clinton's involvement in Northern Irish politics. My original estimate of his performance was derived from discussions with various folks in the North and in the Republic way back in 1995 (heck, one man in Cork discussed how he'd like Dole to win in 96). Of course, some of that opinion negative to Clinton's involvement came from RUC officers.
I suppose Clinton's relative success with NI is what led him to assume the same approach might work with Israel and the Palestinians, but that's another issue entirely.
As I'm sure you can tell, I currently have no bias (meaning I'm wishy-washy, have taken no position) with respect to N.I. And I hate not having an opinion!