HEAVYWEIGHT FIGHT

Clinton cautions Democrats (James G. Lakely, 7/24/03, THE WASHINGTON TIMES)

Former President Bill Clinton's advice that Democrats should quit harping on President Bush's disputed statement that Iraq had pursued nuclear material from Africa was well-received by many Democrats on Capitol Hill - but not his wife.

"Everybody makes mistakes when they are president," Mr. Clinton said Tuesday night on CNN's "Larry King Live," adding that "the thing we ought to be focused on is what is the right thing to do right now."

The comments were widely interpreted as a message to Democratic presidential candidates that their constant criticism of Mr. Bush's Iraq policy is pushing the party too far to the left and away from mainstream voters who still largely support the U.S.-led campaign that deposed Saddam Hussein. [...]

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Democrat, ... didn't seem to be on the same page as her husband. She repeated her call yesterday for an investigation into the Iraq-Africa nuclear link.

"I think there should be an independent investigation," Mrs. Clinton said. "I've called for it. How credible are these claims? What else do we need to find out about other claims?"

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Ms Clinton's pending presidential candidacy is that because of the political dynamics in the Democratic Party--if not because of conviction--she's going to run against the New Democrat legacy of her husband. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 25, 2003 8:59 PM