Nearly 12 years after he left office, Bill Clinton remains one of our most popular and compelling politicians. Many believe, probably correctly, that if the Constitution had allowed he could have won a third term as president in 2000, despite the sex scandals, his minor perjury rap and his impeachment by the House.
The Obama campaign plans to make full use of that popularity and his lingering association with good economic times, including four years of balanced budgets, at the Democratic convention in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the Associated Press, campaign and party officials were at pains to stress that President Barack Obama "personally" asked Clinton to place his name in nomination and that Clinton "enthusiastically" agreed.
Clinton is being given an exceptional piece of prime time to speak, the night before Obama makes his acceptance speech, a slot usually reserved for the running mate. Instead, Vice President Joe Biden will speak just ahead of Obama on Thursday night in Bank of America stadium.
Some commentators will unkindly recall Clinton's debut on the national stage when as a rising star in the party the then-governor of Arkansas was invited to nominate Michael Dukakis at the 1988 convention in Atlanta. His speech was not only boring but seemingly interminable and when he finally said, "In conclusion," the audience erupted in cheers.
Democratic strategists hope that Clinton's presence will dramatize the party's unity and draw a contrast with the Republicans, whose most recent president, George W. Bush, is not attending and whose nominee, Mitt Romney, is viewed skeptically by the party's powerful right wing.
Clinton could be an effective campaigner for Obama this fall, although he can be famously undisciplined. This spring, when the Obama campaign was trying to paint Romney's record at Bain Capital as one of plant closings and job outsourcing, Clinton praised Romney's "sterling business career" and said he was more than qualified to run for president.
That perhaps is the downside of Clinton's greatest political asset: He's impossible to ignore, and the convention is not the last time this fall that Obama will have to call on the party's most popular Democrat. Even if he can be something of a loose cannon, Clinton still musters a lot of political firepower.
Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com.
chuckles3 posted at 8:59 am on Fri, Aug 3, 2012.
Hey Dale Whiting-you might want to check the details on the poll the MSM foisted on you. But, if you want to be a sheep and just believe the narrative, be my guest.
Clinton is a philandering clown, but he was smart enough to ride the internet boom economic wave and move to the center in his second term. He was convicted of perjury and lost his law license. Americans gave him a pass because it was a 'personal matter.' And we no longer have a moral compass in this country.
Leon Ceniceros posted at 4:57 pm on Thu, Aug 2, 2012.
POOR OBAMA...EVEN AFTER 3 1/2 YEARS OF BEING THE "LEADER OF THE FREE WORLD", THE "MAN BEHIND THE DESK IN THE OVAL OFFICE OF THE WHITE HOUSE"..........THAT HE STILL HAS TO COME ..."HAT IN HAND TO THE ....M.A.N."...TO GET ELECTED FOR A SECOND TERM.
YUP, HERE IS OBAMA ASKING BILL CLINTON (WHO FAMOUSLY TOLD TEDDY KENNEDY IN A PHONE CALL DURING THE DEMOCRAT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RUN-OFF......"A FEW YEARS AGO, THIS GUY (OBAMA) WOULD HAVE BEEN GETTING US COFFEE".
OH, AND LET'S NOT FORGET WHAT HILLARY SAID IN ONE OF HER SPEECHES THAT............"YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE WHEN IT COMES TO OUR RELATIVES. WE HAVE A CHOICE WHEN IT COME TO OUR PASTORS (ANTI-WHITE, ANTI-AMERICAN, ANTI-CAPITALIST = REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT).....AND THE CHURCHES (THE BLACK LIBERATION THEOLOGY BASED = TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, SOUTH CHICAGO, ILLINOIS)....WE ATTEND".
I WONDER IF OBAMA IS GOING TO BE DESPERATE ENOUGH TO CALL UPON THE DEMOCRAT PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, HARRY REID FOR A SPEECH AT THE DEMOCRAT CONVENTION......TOO ???
REMEMBER HARRY REID COMMENTED ON OBAMA BEING......"LIGHT-SKINNED"...AND NOT HAVING A ..."NEGRO DIALECT UNLESS HE WANTED TO HAVE ONE".
YES, POOR OBAMA....THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD...BUT STILL NEEDING THE ...."MAN"....TO GET HIM RE-ELECTED.......[wink]
mnjcpa posted at 3:34 pm on Wed, Aug 1, 2012.
I really love the touch of the Mao loving Elizabeth Warren as a speaker. Talk about of touch. You might want to check those 'polls' Dale propped up by Obama's media sycophants. There's a 10 point spread in Democrats surveyed which is unreliable data.
chatmandu002 posted at 1:58 pm on Wed, Aug 1, 2012.
Obama is desperate and has succumb to the wilds of Clinton. Slick Willy can break or maybe make Obama. I wonder if Slick Willy is thinking about his wife for president in 2016. All this from a man who degraded the office of the President while lying under oath.
VofReason posted at 1:04 pm on Wed, Aug 1, 2012.
Just checking here, but is the Columist saying Clinton can be "Famously undisciplined" for stating the truth that Romney has a "sterling business record"? That he should be a more disciplined Democrat and lie like a rug about his business record?
VofReason posted at 1:02 pm on Wed, Aug 1, 2012.
Well why not Clinton, President Obama needs someone to make people forget about the last 3.5 years. And Biden, why now get a dancing chimp. At least you won't have to worry about the chimp saying something stupid. Yes, bring on Clinton, after President Obama's time Clinton looks like George Washington. Heck I would bet that Democrates and Republicans would vote for him over Obama in 2012 if they could.
Dale Whiting posted at 8:33 am on Wed, Aug 1, 2012.
Isn't it interesting how relevant to today's politics the new TV series "Political Animals" is turning out to be!
Picking Clinton to nominate Obama will also highlight the distance between today's conservative party and it's last incumbents. "W" is nowhere to be seen. And Cheney is being kept on a leash. Now that Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania appear to have swung decisively to Obama, and with Romney stepping on it in England and Israel, easily it could become the sinking of the Romney Titanic in mid ocean.