Can Bill Clinton be on his best behavior?

He is promising to give up his money. Bill Clinton should also promise to give up his penchant for bad behavior.

The former president is agreeing to restrictions on his business and philanthropic activities to clear the way for his wife to join President-elect Barack Obama's administration as secretary of state.

While he's at it, Clinton should also promise not to do anything to embarrass Hillary Clinton if she is appointed to the post. If he does, it will also embarrass the next president.

In Bill Clinton's case, a good behavior clause should be tailored to cover a wide swath of well-chronicled possibilities.

From his own two-term presidency, Americans already know discretion is not his middle name.

During his wife's 2008 presidential campaign, Clinton displayed either a disconcerting lack of discipline or a disciplined determination to undercut the candidate.

His intemperate remarks often hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign effort. Before the New Hampshire primary, he called Obama's Iraq war stand, "The biggest fairy tale that I've ever seen." He infuriated black voters by equating Obama's South Carolina victory with Jesse Jackson's. After being accused of playing the "race card," he told a Pennsylvania radio station, "they played the race card on me."

All the old Bill Clinton baggage also weighed her down, until finally she shoved him and it behind the scenes and made her own case to voters. She proved herself to be smart, tough, and independent. It wasn't enough to beat Obama, but it was enough to bring her respect and the votes of 18 million Americans.

As word got out that Obama was considering his former rival for a Cabinet post, Bill Clinton was back in the spotlight, too. He is a big package of political talent and trouble. It would be a shame if the part that represents trouble trips up the next president and his secretary of state.

As the two Clintons underwent vetting by Obama, Bill Clinton was talking about it - in Kuwait, where he was giving a speech, according to The New York Times. "I'll do whatever they want," he said at another public appearance.

What they want should include a vow of silence. Pillow talk is one thing. Giving advice when asked is another. But, Bill Clinton shouldn't be talking publicly for or about Hillary Clinton in any way that would undercut her role as secretary of state.

And that's just the beginning of what he shouldn't be doing. With his own activities curtailed to allow his wife to take this job, what will he do with his spare time? Let's hope the National Enquirer finds him reading, reflecting, and reclining, all by himself.

Obama is a huge celebrity of world-class cachet. If Hillary Clinton becomes the next secretary of state, he will be drafting a fellow celebrity onto his team.

Bill Clinton happens to be a rock star, too. He should promise himself and the country that he won't be the kind that trashes the hotel room, or the Oval Office, yet again. There's too much at stake.

Joan Vennochi can be reached at vennochi@globe.com.