Posted on 01/06/2008 5:36:14 PM PST by jdm
Bill Clinton's new brief was to make the case for his wife Hillary as a woman of action and experience "who gets things done".
But he could not stop himself drifting back to his years in the White House and the glory days of his 1992 campaign. The more he talks, the greater the danger is that he harms Mrs Clinton's chances by focusing on the past when voters are looking for change and highlighting his star power compared to her own plodding style.
Seven years after he handed over the presidency to George W. Bush, Mr Clinton can still make a persuasive case. He is now more bleary-eyed old sage, however, than the fresh-faced "Comeback Kid" of four elections ago when he fought back in the New Hampshire primary and went on to victory.
The veteran warrior was still able to take some shots at his wife's nemesis Barack Obama, suggesting he was incapable of delivering on his lofty rhetoric. "Do you want a feeling of change or do you want the fact of change?" he asked the crowd. "Do you want words that sound good or action that changes your life for the better?"
He knew though that Mr Obama had just drawn a wildly enthusiastic crowd of more than 2,500 in Nashua while Mrs Clinton's rally in Penacook at the same time had drawn just 800. About 500 were crammed into a school gymnasium for Mr Clinton's event.
As he waxed nostalgic about his time in the White House, it was almost as if Mr Clinton sensed that the political dream he and his wife had shared for perhaps a decade of her returning to his old stamping ground was slipping away.
"Just think what it's like to be president," he mused. "They play a song every time you walk in the room - 'Hail to the Chief'. I was completely lost for three weeks after I left the White House. Nobody ever played a song any more.
"Washington DC is the second most congested city in America. But the president never waits in traffic. He just slips along in that bullet-proof limo. You live in America's best public housing. No commute to the most famous office in the world and your airplane is so cool they make movies about it."
The podium at Souhegan High School was decorated with a huge "Hillary for President" sign. Above it, in an unfortunate juxtaposition, was a large girls' soccer banner declaring: "Runner-up".
Even when he made a point about the former First Lady's dedication and staying power, she was merely a footnote in an anecdote about himself.
"I remember at the end of my campaign 15 years ago," he said "I gave a speech in Dover when I lost my normal constraints and started talking in the foreign language of my native land Arkansas. I said that if you elected me I would be with you until the last dog died.
"That's the kind of speech I gave when I was tired. I tell you that because that's the kind of person she is. She will be with you until the end."
Several of those watching indicated they believed that New Hampshire could well be the end for Mrs Clinton. Scott Rabiet, 45, a museum exhibits designer, had seen Mr Obama before the Bill Clinton event day and had been struck by the contrast.
"What I heard at the Obama event was an articulate vision for where this country ought to go," he said. "What I saw here was an articulate set of policy proposals....Obama does it for me. Hillary makes a great senator."
The contrast between Mrs Clinton and her husband also worked against the former First Lady, he added. "Hillary suffers by comparison. The guy's a natural. Hillary's not. That's obvious."
Dave Callahan, 49, a jewellery importer, said he respected Mrs Clinton's experience but worried about the legacy of the partisan warfare of the 1990s. "The big bad side of it is Hillary's just one more Clinton battle and all the baggage that brings."
Good!
I think Bill secretly does not want to be first guy! He is not stupid when it comes to politics. He is sandbagging his old lady!
Exactly! What’s the problem here? Steal away Bill...
those two deserve each other.
What?
Let’s keep our fingers crossed for Tuesday.
I want to see Hillary become a punchline by November.
The editors could have saved some ink (or electrons) by just saying:
Bill Clinton steals.
Um Bill, I don't think you should mention that cause Hillary was part of an obstructionist Senate that got NOTHING done in 2007.
What a self-important, pompous, vacuous twit.
Let's face it. He doesn't need her, never did and she knows it.
Here's one for you slick willy:
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.) What you say?
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more, no more, no more, no more.)
(Hit the road Jack and don't you come back no more.)
Years back I heard a description of Bill Clinton as being like the moon. With his personality, he has no light of his own, he must find the brightest light available and reflect it back.
I get what he is saying. However, this should be be voiced only to his closest friends on rare occasions. This baring of his pathetic soul is emblematic of the 90s.
They just don’t get it. HE is a big part of what we all want a CHANGE from !!!
They had 8 years in the White House, just what was it they got done during that time again? Sound of crickets chirping.
The guy has lost his marbles. He must have OD’d on Viagra.
Crickets chirp here. However, they will shout about how great the 90s were. It does not matter that they were riding a tech bubble and squandering the post cold war "peace dividend."
Thank God he left. Hopefully the people in this country aren’t stupid enough to vote Mrs. Bill Clinton into office!
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