Bill Clinton: President Obama not getting his due

Former President Bill Clinton said Sunday that Barack Obama is doing a “better job than he’s given credit for.”

Clinton, speaking in Cape Town, South Africa as part of the Fortune/Time/CNN Global Forum, said that public perception of the president has lagged behind what he has done to benefit the country.

“I think he's done a better job than he's given credit for,” Clinton said. “I feel very strongly about this.”

The former president, who, like Obama, saw his polling numbers dip dramatically during his second year in office, said that Obama is not fully “responsible” for how he is perceived, adding that a dip in approval is “not avoidable” in an economic downturn.

Why is he trying to save the sinking ship? Why are ALL of the rats sticking with him despite his impending downfall?

President Clinton isn't trying to save the President.

He knows that no matter what happens, the President will retain the support of a core Democrat demographic that his wife needs in order to be elected.

He is, wisely, preparing for any scenario.

If the President decides not to run again and Secretary Clinton does run in 2012 - or even if Secretary Clinton runs regardless - the Clintons need to demonstrate that they were not carpers, critics or complainers.

They "supported the President fully" even when "prominent Democrats jumped ship" but now "the time has come for a different approach" and they "applaud the President for his accomplishments."

Etc.

The road to Clinton II lies through the Democrat primaries and now is not the time to triangulate right.

When I was in St. Lucia just after Obozo was elected, we heard a few cab drivers debating whether or not Obama was “The Messiah”. They were quite serious about it. We wanted to hurl on the beach.

There is a cultural context for this.

Every Anglophone West Indian island (Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Saint Lucia, Virgin Islands, etc.) is deeply influenced by Marcus Garvey.

Marcus Garvey is considered a prophet, saint, hero and so forth.

His main teachings, such as they were, were that full equality and dignity would not come for the African diaspora until a great leader from Africa arose to deliver them. He implied, without saying it directly, that it would be a Second Coming.

Many Jamaicans saw Haile Selassie I, the Emperor of Ethiopia, as that leader. When Selassie died (likely murdered by Communists), many West Indians believed that another leader would come.

When a man whose father was Kenyan became the frontrunner for the presidency of the US, many West Indians believed that Garvey's prophecy was coming true.

Again, this belief was not based on the President's actions or voting record or personality or anything specific, but as a possible fulfillment of prophecy - a West Indian analogue of what we see many endtimers on these threads feverishly proclaiming with each new global development.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.