It was hard to forget those awful years, or to believe they were truly over.

Eventful incidents had taken place during those three awful years.

From that regard, last year was not an awful year.

Best 3 years of the last awful 27 years I have had.

After four awful years, I finally felt I was getting somewhere.

Once, earlier on in that awful year of 1956, I passed a gallstone.

"If you take off his horrendous start, he's had an awful good year," said Johnson.

He thought of that awful year and a half, when his world had ended and it seemed as if nothing would ever be right again.

As Gergen points out, that was hardly the only reason Clinton had an awful first year in office.

He shrugs off last season as an "awful year on a bad team.