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ByJuliePace TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON When Bill Clinton left the White House, he was popular but tainted by scandal, strug- gling to find his footing. He eventually channeled his energy into the global philanthropy that bears his name and is shaping so much of his post-presiden- tial legacy. Now, he faces the pros- pect of walking away from the Clinton Founda- tion. He's promised to step down from the board if Hill- ary Clinton wins the White House in November, a com- mitment made amid swirl- ing questions — pushed along by Donald Trump — about her ability to sepa- rate herself from the foun- dation's wealthy contribu- tors at home and abroad. For the Clintons, the deci- sions surrounding the foun- dation are the latest chapter in an unprecedented part- nership of personal and po- litical ambitions. While po- litical spouses — Hillary Clinton among them — of- ten put aside their own goals, never before has that been required of a former president. Friends and associates say Bill Clinton has ac- cepted that his role in the high-profile charity has to change. But he's also said to be deeply frustrated with the criticism that is shadow- ing his potential exit. "We're trying to do good things. If there's something wrong with creating jobs and saving lives, I don't know what it is," he said last week. Mark Updegrove, the director of the Lyndon B. Johnson presidential library and author of "Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Lega- cies After the White House," said that while the founda- tion has unquestionably done good work around the world, the president has no choice but to step aside if his wife wins the White House. "Bill Clinton is smart enough to know that as much as the Clinton Foun- dation might help to aug- ment his legacy, Hillary Clinton becoming presi- dency will be a far greater legacy than anything he himself can do as a former president," Updegrove said. The foundation made some adjustments after she became secretary of state, but it has still faced numer- ous questions about how rigorously firewalls were upheld that were meant to separate donors from her government work. An Associated Press re- view of Clinton's calendars from a two-year stretch show that more than half of those she met with from outside of government had made contributions to the foundation. For Trump and other Republicans, the Clintons' overlapping worlds are rife with potential ethical lapses. And for some Dem- ocrats, even that perception is worrisome in an election year where control of the White House and Congress are at stake. Meanwhile, there's a unique reality of modern American politics: What presidents do after leaving the White House can shape their legacy almost as much as their tenure in the Oval Office. It can be an oppor- tunity to bolster presiden- tial successes and try to make up for failures. And those who leave office rela- tively young — Clinton was 54 — can spend many more years on these legacy proj- ects than they did in the White House. Jimmy Carter, who was seen by some as an ineffec- tual one-term president, has dramatically reshaped his image with decades of work on global issues. George W. Bush left office deeply un- popular, but has been ap- plauded for dedicating his post-White House years to HIV programs in Africa and work with wounded military veterans. Presi- dent Barack Obama has been discussing plans for his White House afterlife with confidants for months. "There's a certain ex- pectation that you stay in- volved, you don't totally get off the scene," said Anita McBride, a longtime Bush family aide. Bill Clinton's foundation began largely to support the building of his presidential library in Little Rock, Ar- kansas. As his post-White House ambitions grew, so did the foundation, balloon- ing into a $2 billion char- ity focused on global health, climate change and other international efforts. The former president has played an active role, lever- aging his contacts to fill the foundation's coffers and traveling around the world to meet with people helped by its work. He's the star of the annual Clinton Global Initiative meetings in New York, a mingling of inter- national power players and celebrities that has become the hottest invitation in the philanthropic community. "The work of the founda- tion is as important to him as anything he's ever done in a lifetime of public ser- vice," said Matt McKenna, who worked as Clinton's spokesman until last year. Perhaps reluctant to let go, the Clintons waited un- til this month to announce a blueprint for the founda- tion's future in the event she wins in November. The plan involves the former presi- dent stepping down from the board, though daugh- ter Chelsea Clinton will remain. Foreign and cor- porate donations will be halted, though the founda- tion is looking for ways to spin off some programs and keep them running. The prospect of Bill Clin- ton stepping away from the foundation that has been the main outlet for his en- ergy and intellect has re- newed discussions about how he would fill his time in his wife's administration. POLITICS Foundation big part of Bill Clinton's post-White House life ABDELJALILBOUNHAR—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Former President Bill Clinton speaks during a plenary session at the Clinton Global Initiative Middle East & Africa meeting in Marrakech, Morocco. 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