December 22, 2007

IF AL GORE HAD THIS MUCH SENSE HE'D HAVE BEEN PRESIDENT:

Hillary Clinton Embraces Her Husband's Legacy (Anne E. Kornblut and Alec MacGillis, 12/22/07, Washington Post)

After months of discussion within her campaign over how heavily she should draw on her husband's legacy, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is closing out her Iowa and New Hampshire campaigns in a tight embrace of Bill Clinton's record, helping fuel a debate about the 1990s with Sen. Barack Obama that she thinks she can win.

As part of the Clinton strategy, the former president is playing an increasingly prominent public role as an advocate for his wife. He appears to have overcome concerns within the campaign over how closely she should associate her candidacy with his time in office and over whether his appearances could draw attention away from her.


It won't help in the primaries, because the Left has become too deranged during the Bush years, but running as the Third Way successor to her husband and the President is her one shot at winning the general.

Posted by Orrin Judd at December 22, 2007 8:56 AM
Comments

The BJ-"third way" connection is some sort of persistent urban legend. BJ went for queers in the military on Inauguration Day, followed by attempted socialized medicine and the "assault" "weapons" "ban." Only after the NRA swept in the Contract with America Congress did he pretend to be some sort of centrist.

Posted by: Lou Gots at December 22, 2007 10:13 AM

The quivering lower lip isn't in fashion anymore. Bubba is history even if some aging hippies will wait on line in the cold to catch a glimpse of him. That won't translate into votes for the little woman.

Posted by: erp at December 22, 2007 10:51 AM

Bill's recent lies in offering fealty to the nutroots don't help here. Neither does his ego, which drives him to absorb the press everywhere, even when making joint appearances with Hillary.

In other words, if Clinton fatigue hurt Gore a bit in 2000, it will probably gut Hill this time around.

As for the 3rd Way, OJ need only look at Tony Blair to see someone who DID stand in oppostion to virtually all the instincts of his party. As Lou noted, Clinton tried governing like Pelosi from minute one, only to discover that it cost him Congress. A question - if lying about a middle-class tax cut was 3rd Way, does it really count? You know, like a principle?

Posted by: jim hamlen at December 22, 2007 2:16 PM
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