ASHINGTON - Donald Trump, a self-described ladies' man now pondering running for president, says in his new book that Bill Clinton could have gone down in history as ''a very good president'' if he had not been exposed for his affair with an intern.
Trump also writes that possible Reform Party rival Pat Buchanan looks ''like a loser,'' Democratic presidential aspirant Bill Bradley is ''a disaster,'' and Vice President Al Gore is ''an able, underrated man who seems confused these days.''
Trump professes in his book, ''The America We Deserve,'' to have a clear vision of the past, present, and future. One of the few question he leaves unanswered is if he will run for president in 2000. The book will be in stores next week.
''Let's cut to the chase. Yes, I am considering running for the presidency. The reason has nothing to do with vanity, as some have suggested, or merely to block the advancement of other candidates,'' Trump writes.
''Two things are certain at this point. I believe nonpoliticians represent the wave of the future, and if elected I would make the kind of president America needs.''
Saying, ''I will run if I become convinced I can win,'' Trump promises to make a decision early next year. He has said if he runs he will spend about $100 million of his own money on the campaign.
He is the latest in a long line of presidential aspirants who have come out with books in recent months to trumpet themselves, their beliefs and ideas. The twice-divorced casino owner and developer admits he has failed as a husband but said, ''Marriage is not the only family value that matters.''
''The importance you give to your relationship with your kids is a family value. So is your relationship with your parents, your sisters and brothers,'' Trump writes.
''I've lived my life as an open book and don't claim to be something that I'm not. What you see is what you get,'' he writes.
In his 286-page book, Trump calls for better schools, says he fears increased terrorist attacks and complains that money has corrupted the political system. He makes only a few passing mentions of Texas Governor George W. Bush, the Republican presidential front-runner.
Trump says Clinton erred by responding to allegations that he had an affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. ''When confronted with the Lewinsky matter, Clinton should have stoutly refused to discuss his private life. He should also have declined to answer rather than perjure himself,'' Trump writes.
''The whole Clinton story became a tragedy,'' he says. ''Bill Clinton could have gone down as a very good president. Instead, he goes down as a guy they tried to impeach.''
In fact, the House did impeach Clinton but the Senate did not convict him.
And the billionaire real estate developer has another point to make about Clinton, saying the president and Hillary Rodham Clinton overpaid for the house they bought in New York for $1.7 million.
''If I had represented him in buying the house,'' Trump writes, ''I could have saved them about $600,000.''
