Bookmark this page |
Tag to del.icio.us
| Add to Technorati Favorites
|
Our discussion forum is open for business. Come say hello. |
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Bill Clinton's influence
By VictorM:I continue to stay mum on much of the bickering between Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and Bill Clinton's recent foray into the campaign. I have done so because I will support whomever the Democratic candidate is. I find the bickering just a small distraction and very much part of the political process.
I have not been bothered too much by Bill Clinton's higher visibility in the campaign trail but Josh Marshall has an excellent essay on why this is possibly more bothersome than I make it out to be. The whole post by Josh is worth reading, but here's a portion in particular that's giving me reason to reexamine my position:
With the exception of a few days in early January I've gone on the assumption for many months that Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic nominee. But I think Bill's actions have greatly diminished her. He has put her back under his shadow where she hasn't been for years... He's dominating the race. And that makes her look like a weaker figure -- something that will not wear well in the general election.
Comments:
Links to this post:
You are not on our Home Page.
Click here to return to ARGville's Home Page
I must respectfully disagree. Bill Clinton is widely considered to be the fundraiser/spokesperson/quissentential political figure of the democratic party. He has star quality and face & name recognition around the world. In light of all that, for Hillary's campaign to NOT use him would make me seriously doubt their judgement. Simply put, to have such a powerful tool on your side and not to use it would be foolish.
I don't disagree that Bill Clinton can be a great asset to Hillary. He should speak on her behalf and campaign vigorously for her.
The problem is when he talks like an "attack dog", a role that should be left to surrogates and frankly, is beneath a former president. When he sucks up all the news cycles instead of her, it could be more detrimental than helpful.
The problem is when he talks like an "attack dog", a role that should be left to surrogates and frankly, is beneath a former president. When he sucks up all the news cycles instead of her, it could be more detrimental than helpful.
No, but Bill doesn't help when he's the one in that role. From today's NT Times:
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign team, seeking to readjust after her lopsided defeat in South Carolina and amid a sense among many Democrats that Mr. Clinton had injected himself clumsily into the race, will try to shift the former president back into the sunnier, supportive-spouse role that he played before Mrs. Clinton’s loss in the Iowa caucuses, Clinton advisers said...
Echoing private remarks by some Clinton advisers, Linda L. Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College, said in an interview that she believed Mr. Clinton’s attacks on Mr. Obama had hurt Mrs. Clinton.
“Voters don’t like the idea of a co-presidency, and he became so high profile that he made people begin to see this as a possible co-presidency,” Ms. Fowler said. “It’s even more problematic because she’s a woman. It looks like she either needs him to fight the big battles for her, or she can’t keep the big dog on the porch.”
Full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/politics/28dems.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Post a Comment
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign team, seeking to readjust after her lopsided defeat in South Carolina and amid a sense among many Democrats that Mr. Clinton had injected himself clumsily into the race, will try to shift the former president back into the sunnier, supportive-spouse role that he played before Mrs. Clinton’s loss in the Iowa caucuses, Clinton advisers said...
Echoing private remarks by some Clinton advisers, Linda L. Fowler, a professor of government at Dartmouth College, said in an interview that she believed Mr. Clinton’s attacks on Mr. Obama had hurt Mrs. Clinton.
“Voters don’t like the idea of a co-presidency, and he became so high profile that he made people begin to see this as a possible co-presidency,” Ms. Fowler said. “It’s even more problematic because she’s a woman. It looks like she either needs him to fight the big battles for her, or she can’t keep the big dog on the porch.”
Full article here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/us/politics/28dems.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Links to this post:
You are not on our Home Page.
Click here to return to ARGville's Home Page
