Maybe they’ll just blow him off.
There are precedents.
A chance to get close to some prime Senate interns?
In addition to the “positioning of Hillary for 2012” thesis, also don’t discount Bill’s ability to make this health care his own. IF it passes, he can claim that he laid the foundation back in 1993, so this was just a logical, forgone conclusion of the visionary actions he took back then. He’s the hero to the left because he passed it - finally!
And if it all backfires, well, your thesis that it sets up Hillary! nicely for a 2012 run is completely accurate...
It’s a win/win for Bill...
Hopefully Clinton’s twisting arms on the health care bill will be as successful as his campaigning for multiple Democrats over the years to the point he is considered poison.