Former President Clinton indicates he likely won't do a TV talk show _ at least not now

<br>NEW YORK (AP) _ While admitting he finds the idea intriguing, former President Clinton has thrown cold water on the idea of becoming a television talk show host. <br><br>``I think I'll leave that

Wednesday, September 4th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) _ While admitting he finds the idea intriguing, former President Clinton has thrown cold water on the idea of becoming a television talk show host.

``I think I'll leave that to you,'' Clinton told CNN's Larry King during an appearance on the news network Tuesday night.

Earlier this year, Clinton met with NBC executives in Los Angeles about a potential chat show. After those talks cooled, Clinton also listened to an offer from CBS in recent weeks.

But Clinton said he wasn't inclined to go where Phil Donahue, Oprah Winfrey and Geraldo Rivera have gone before.

``I don't think so,'' Clinton said. ``You know, maybe sometime later in my life I'd like to do it. It would be intriguing to me because I like to talk to people. I'd like to have Dole come on my show and tell me what I did wrong about things.''

Clinton was making a joint appearance on CNN Tuesday night with his Republican rival for the presidency in 1996, Bob Dole.

Clinton said he wasn't ready for the day-to-day work required for a talk show.

``A lot of the work I do requires me to travel,'' he said. ``You know, I'm going to Africa later this month. I'm going to India at the end of November. And I really believe I should always spend more than half my time on public service, so I just don't see how I can do it.''

He said he liked ``Larry King Live'' because it had a variety of guests who were allowed to have their say.

``So much of the debate today in America is so harsh, and people are trying to get market share by confirming the preexisting convictions of people. I think we all ought to be questioning all the time and learning and growing.

``But it's not my deal,'' he said.