LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Bill Clinton always said presidential campaigns must be about the future, but Hillary Rodham Clinton's potential White House bid is bound to bring up the past.

How the former secretary of state navigates her husband's triumphs and travails during the 1990s could figure prominently in a possible 2016 race for the presidency.

In a touch of legacy shaping, Bill Clinton and his onetime White House advisers highlighted his record during a 10th anniversary weekend celebration at his presidential centre, pointing to an administration that presided over a robust economy and worked with Republicans on big problems such as welfare reform.

"We did what we set out to do," he said Friday in a speech at his centre along the banks of the Arkansas River.

The former first lady often presents her husband's White House as a case study of what can be accomplished for Democrats who are now dealing with midterm election losses and a weakened President Barack Obama. She frequently talks of untangling the gridlock in Washington and cites concerns that a rebounding economy has yet to benefit many families.

On Saturday, she discussed one of her passion projects, increasing economic opportunities for women. "We have seen over and over again how important it is to open up economic opportunities for girls and women," she said.

With Republican teams researching Hillary Clinton's past for vulnerabilities, the reminiscing about one Clinton White House and quiet speculation about another one offered examples of how the past could influence the future.

The Miller Center at the University of Virginia released the first batch of oral histories of Bill Clinton's presidency. The interviews provide an accounting of Clinton's two terms, from his struggles to pass a health care overhaul to his successes in steering the economy and defending against impeachment.

Many of the interviews offered a look at Hillary Clinton's White House role.

Alan Blinder, a Princeton economist and former Clinton economic adviser, said she learned lasting lessons from her work on the health care task force.

"I think she's much more politically astute now than she was in early 1993," Blinder said.

The interviews also delve into Clinton's impeachment and his controversial pardons.

Former White House chief of staff Leon Panetta recalled his concerns about White House intern Monica Lewinsky hanging around during a government shutdown. "The president always had an eye for attractive women," Panetta said.

Bill Clinton's testimony for the Paula Jones sexual harassment lawsuit, in which he denied a sexual relationship with Lewinsky, led to his impeachment in 1998 by the Republican-run House of Representatives. He was acquitted by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Yet many members of Clinton's network noted that domestic matters such as the economy and dealing with gridlock are more likely to resonate.

"Americans face some real problems but aren't sure Washington can fix them," said Bruce Reed, a former economic adviser, in an interview. "That's the biggest hurdle to anybody who wants to do something with the presidency."