Former President Bill Clinton was not too upset about Sen. Jesse Helms' comments suggesting he was unfit to be commander in chief or that it might not be safe for him to travel to a North Carolina military base, according to a new book called "The Clinton Tapes."

The book, by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Taylor Branch, is a collection of private taped conversations he had with Clinton during the White House years, that he agreed not to publish until years later. Clinton and Branch are long-time friends, Rob Christensen reports.

"For different reasons" Branch writes, "the president said he muted his response to a televised attack from Senator Jesse Helms, who called Clinton 'unfit' to command the armed forces. Helms was a significant national figure — the incoming chair of the Foreign Relations Committee — and to denounce him from the White House would magnify conduct suited to a banana republic."

"Clinton told me he appreciated General [John] Shalikashvili of the Joint Chiefs, along with many leading newspapers, for statements of support, but Helms defiantly escalated the rhetorical assault. He warned that President Clinton would not be safe on any military base in North Carolina."

"The president shrugged off the ominous barb, even professing a touch of fondness for 'ol Jesse.' Incredulous, I pressed him about false bravado. Surely, Helms violated some taboo in civil-military relations, if not basic decorum. His veiled threat, I said, delivered on the anniversary of President Kennedy's assassination, could be construed as incitement to crackpots or even military contempt, impervious to political balance or constitutional norms. He said insult was their program, and Helms was just more honest than his fellow Republicans."