LITTLE ROCK, ARK. ? Bill Clinton’s presidential library, opening today, covers Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky in a single display that portrays the White House scandals as a “fight for power” and an exercise in the “politics of persecution.”

“We had to show this was a systematic attempt by Republican leaders to de-legitimize Bill Clinton and the administration,” said former Clinton adviser Bruce Lindsey, who worked with the ex-president through much of the exhibit-design process.

The nation’s second presidential impeachment is dealt with along with other scandals in an 8-by-6-foot alcove titled “The Fight for Power.”

“His supporters will say, ‘Oh, why did you give this so much space?”‘ library director David Alsobrook said as reporters received advance tours Wednesday. “But his detractors will come up and say, ‘Dave, where is the blue dress?”‘

In contrast, Clinton asked specifically for a double alcove on his diplomatic efforts in Northern Ireland, the Balkans and the Middle East, according to exhibit designer Ralph Appelbaum.

Advisers presented computer mock-ups of exhibits to Clinton for approval. A group of the president’s speechwriters drafted the text.

The scandal exhibit is split into sections called “Politics of Persecution” and “A New Culture of Confrontation.”

After a tour of exhibits and a reception, Clinton, his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea, greeted a crowd of more than 1,000. Also, a free concert was held featuring the North Mississippi All Stars and Better Than Ezra.